1000 days
by Godstaff
Summary: A powerless Superman, an emotionally challenged Diana and an incapacitated Batman are stranded in a remote world, with no resources but themselves.
1. Chapter 1

****Obviously, I don't own the rights to any of these characters and anything related to them.

I'd be the recipient of a lot of insults and name callings if I would.

Thanks to **iDefyGravity** for her help in making this understandable.

**1000 DAYS**

Chapter 1 - LOVE IS A (CRAZY) BITCH

_JL Mission File #06943:_

_Situation:_

_After two and a half Sol years of armed conflict, both sides sustaining heavy losses, the governments of Rann and Thanagar were ready to establish a cease fire and initiate peace talks. Since Almerac held trade agreements with both planetary systems, Queen Maxima offered her world for the Peace Negotiations to take place and her mediation services. Given her scarce experience in diplomatic affairs, Queen Maxima arrived at JL Headquarters on Wednesday the 3rd to request the assistance of the Justice League, in which she had a short tenure._  
_Queen Maxima specifically asked for the presence of_

_Member 0.03, Wonder Woman, whose ambassadorial experience made her specially fitted to handle any diplomatic dispute, shall it arise. Member 0.02, Batman, whose expertise in security matters will help assure the safety of the summit. Member 0.01, Superman, a well known and respected figure throughout the universe, to ensure fair play and trust between the parts involved._

_Resolution:_

_After Weekly Meeting #256, held on Friday the 5th at 11:00 hs. GMT, it was approved unanimously to send a mission to Almerac to assist in any way possible the normal development of the Peace Negotiations. The requested members, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03, had agree to lend their services._

_Mission:_

_All three members would make themselves present in Almerac four days prior to the Peace Negotiations beginning, and take charge of their assigned functions. Once on destination, they would be briefed on the specifics by the Organizational Board._  
_Upon arrival, they were to confirm with Watchtower. Afterwards the Away Team must establish comm-links regularly every twelve Earth hours to inform situation status and mission progress and to receive further instructions._

_Member 0.08, Hawkgirl from Thanagar and reserve member 1.19 Adam Strange from Rann were already stationed in Almerac in representation of the Justice League before their respective governments._

_As safety precaution, Javelin JL011 would stand ready to depart to Almerac at any time, with a backup Beta team, code name "Triad", formed by another 3 members, according to the roster._

_Alpha team, code name "Trinity", was set to depart Thursday the 11th, at 09:00 hs. GMT, on Javelin JL003._

_Acknowledge_

**DAY 1**

Javelin JL003 - Deep Space - In Route to Almerac

"Now exiting wormhole MVD-280364. Point of egress Blackhole DF789045 at the center of Semsute Galaxy, M15947852. ETA to Almerac, 6 earth hours, 16 minutes and 32 seconds" the computer voice notified.

"G.O.R.D.A. (General Operations Regulator and Data Administrator): Auto pilot engaged." Batman released the controls. "Continue in route to Blackhole DF845761 according to pre-established route to Almerac. ETA to next blackhole? Time estimation only."

"1 hour, 13 minutes, 24 seconds"  
Batman asked for a black coffee to the beverage and food supplying machine at the back of Control Room and pulling his cowl back he sat at the science console. He'd noticed a delay in the computer's response. It was a small fraction of a second, but enough to pick his attention. He had to find out the motive.

"Hello, Bruce, time to relieve you" said Wonder Woman entering the room. seeing his worried frown she added, "Everything alright?"

"For some reason the computer is slowing down" said Batman in a serious tone "I've just noticed..."

In that moment Superman opened the sliding hatch at the back of the room "Guys, did you notice G.O.R.D.A. is kind of slow? Just when Diana came here, I was trying to access my book collection and I found a delay of 0.22 seconds"

"Bruce is trying to find out the reason why," said Diana.

"There is a subroutine running in the background, but it seems impossible to access. I fear it might be some kind of virus," informed The Dark Knight.

"Try to pause all automated functions. The one that's still running should be our mystery culprit" suggested the Man of Steel.

"Good Idea." After some key strokes, Bruce exclaimed, "There! It seems to be some kind of timer..."

"Don't touch it, Bruce. It may be a countdown, and you know they usually end in something unpleasant," pointed Diana. An alarm began to sound and red lights start blinking as she was still speaking.

"There was no need to touch it. The moment I paused all other routines it accelerated its pace." Batman had to raise his voice over the intermittent klaxon. "I can't stop it!"

"G.O.R.D.A.: stop sounding the alarm," ordered Superman. The klaxon and lights ceased at once.

When the timer stopped running, the red-headed visage of Maxima showed on every screen of the ship at the same time.

"Hello, Kal-El. Did you miss me? Because I've missed you a lot. Endless nights craving for your touch, eager to run my hands over your muscular torso, hoping I could drown myself in the bottomless pool of your eyes" A deep sadness transpired in her voice and her amber eyes. Clark turned instinctively, his eyes towards Diana. Her beautiful face was transfigured by a disgusted expression, her fists clenched like hammers. He looked back to the screen in front of him, where Maxima continued.

"Anyway, it occurred to me the only way to stop thinking about you is the certainty that you no longer exist, the satisfaction of knowing for sure that if you don't belong to me, you will be nobody else's. Yes, I mean you, you Amazonian whore. I've seen how you look at him, how you let your hands wander all over his chest every time you get together" Diana felt a burning sensation on her cheeks. She prayed to Athena not to be blushing. "Be glad, though, because you'll share his fate. If you look through the starboard windows, you will see a red giant just 3 of your AUs away. That's right, Kal-El, a red sun"

"Obviously this message was to be displayed further on in our route" stated Batman.  
However, they were passing through the planets revolving around a binary system, composed by a white dwarf and a red giant, from which the former was absorbing matter. The situation was equally dangerous for the Man of Steel because they were facing the red giant side of the system.

"As soon as this message ends, a low power kervanite bomb will detonate inside your nuclear fuel tank, igniting it...don't bother trying to find it." said Maxima with a rather colloquial tone "Quite an innovative type of device, or so says my advisor in this matters, Apokoliptian liquid molecular electronics, now embedded deep inside the Javelin's systems, so it is all over the ship by now."

"She's telling the truth. All circuits are infected by it and it mixed with the nuclear fuel fluid," grunted Batman.

"Can you jettison the fuel storage compartment," asked Diana.

"The mechanism safety protocol has been overridden," said Bruce, frantically typing commands on the keyboard.

"I'm going out to remove it manually," declared Clark, disappearing in a blur before anyone could say a word.

"KAL! NO," shouted Diana.

"Don't worry, the red sun rays do not affect him immediately. His cells have stored enough yellow sun radiation to allow him to use his powers for a while," Batman reassured her.

"I know, but..." All color vanished from her face as she was looking through the windows trying to locate him.

Meanwhile, Maxima kept speaking. "As for you, Batman, I have no real quarrel with you, other than your being a pompous pain in the neck, with a lousy attitude and no sense of humor. You'll be collateral damage, because of your human weaknesses, but more importantly, your demise will add another nail to the coffin of my beloved Kal-El, when he realizes he couldn't do anything to save his friend. As for the Amazon, she will last a while and you, Superman, will have the privilege of seeing her die slowly in the vacuum of space, since there's no planet you can reach anywhere near your current position. Perhaps she'll see you die first, without your powers..., in any case, it's a win-win situation."

"Thanks for the idea, Maxima. Start to look for a planet to land the Javelin," said Diana with determination. "Bruce?"

Gotham's Champion was already on it. "Located: possible M class planet with surrounding magnetite debris ring. Detouring Javelin towards it now" Batman jumped in the command chair.

"I'm having difficulties detaching the fuel deposit. It has been strongly welded to the main hull. I won't be able to remove it without causing a breach," informed Superman via intercom.

"Kal, please get back inside! We're moving closer to a planet where, hopefully, we can land!"

"In a minute." Using his heat vision surgically, the last son of Krypton finally took the fuel tank out of the Javelin's hull and began to move away from her as soon as he could.

"...so this is farewell, my beloved" concluded Maxima, blowing a kiss as a tear rolled down her cheek. As her image faded a trepidation could be sensed coming from stern.

"KAL!" screamed Diana as the explosion, augmented by the nuclear fuel ignition, shook the ship from stern to bow, throwing Superman many miles into space before he could stop himself.

The titanium crystals of the control room windows shattered instantaneously and the air in the control room began to disperse into space, sucking Diana and Bruce. She managed to grab a leg of Batman as she struggled to remain inside the ship. Painfully she moved towards the hatch at the rear, dragging the unconscious Dark Knight. After entering the other compartment she shut the hatch and restored the air.  
A quick examination told her Bruce's state was critical. The explosive decompression caused his lungs to collapse and his mouth was filled with blood as were most of his body orifices and eye sockets. She took him to the nearest stasis pod to preserve him in a hibernate condition until she was able to provide him with medical attention.

In the mean time, Superman was approaching the Javelin as soon as he could, feeling his strength diminishing as consequence of the red sun exposure. Thanks to Diana's quick thinking they were getting close to the planet she'd mentioned. In a final effort he augmented the momentum of the ship redirecting her straight to the planet at increased velocity.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to stand those conditions much longer, he got inside the Javelin.

"Kal! Thank Hera you're alive," shouted Diana with a voice strangled by emotion, holding him tight in an endless embrace.

"Are you alright," he asked, returning her gesture. "I was so worried"

"I'm fine" she said with her head resting on his shoulder "It's Bruce. He's been badly injured."

"Where is he?" Clark looked around him for his friend.

"I put him into a stasis pod until we can take care of him" said Wonder Woman, lifting her head from his shoulder and loosening the hug.

"Good call. Meanwhile, we are falling to the class M planet rather fast and my powers are fading, not allowing me to stop the Javelin in time before she reaches terminal velocity" was his response.

"We have very limited maneuverability, with only one motor on line and running on fumes, literally. We'll have to cut every non-essential system if we want to preserve energy to maintain the stasis pod functioning" She looked at the sarcophagus like device."Unfortunately, the explosion destroyed all of the space suits but one and a spare helmet."

"Let's try this: I can stand a little vacuum still, so, with the help of the spare helmet to breathe I can steer the Javelin from the command chair and you help from outside with the suit. When we reach the atmosphere you will be still at your full strength to stop our bird from crashing. How does it sound?" He moved his eyebrows up and down comically.

She couldn't help but smile. He always resorted to comedy when situations looked desperate "Are you sure you can stand those conditions?"

"Sure thing. I'll be fine" he reassured her.

"We must launch the positioning beacon for the League to locate our whereabouts. I'm on it" the Amazon Princess went to a panel on the bulkhead and ordered "G.O.R.D.A. launch homing beacon transmitting in all the usual frequencies, authorization member 0.03, Wonder Woman, papa-alpha-romeo-alpha-delta-india-sierra-echo-1."

"Unable to comply. Beacon launch bay obstructed," informed the metallic voice.

"I'll be damned in Hades!" she exploded "Have to do it manually from the outside" Superman helped her to get into the space suit and he put on the helmet and an oxygen tube on his back. After Wonder Woman move outside the Javelin, Superman entered the command room and took a seat at the central chair. Although he was confident he could stand the open space conditions when he told Diana so, now he wasn't so sure. Every movement was arduous and painful, as every blood vessel in his body was about to burst. He strapped himself and grabbed the steering lever and fired the retro-thrusters, slowing their fall.

Diana went straight to the beacon housing and tried to liberate it. The planet below was approaching very fast. She manage to release the beacon when they were passing the ring surrounding the planet. A blinking light indicated the device was working properly.  
She headed towards the nose of the Javelin right when the ship was entering the atmosphere.

"Kal, everything okay?" she asked.

Clark had no energy left to answer, so he made the "thumbs up" gesture.

"Very well then, brace yourself! " and she started to push the nose of the Javelin back in order to break the fall "Athena, grant me strength, GGGGNNAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Ultimately, she drew strength from the thought of all the things she would do to Maxima next time they meet.

As the friction was generating unbearable heat, the space suit burned away. Clark, strapped to the command seat, put his cape of indestructible kryptonian fabric over his head while his body was protected by his also kryptonian uniform. Still, the extreme heat made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Diana broke the steep angle in which the Javelin was falling, getting her to describe an almost horizontal trajectory by the time they reached land. Seeing a forest nearby she aimed the ship in its direction, hoping the trees would help her slow the vessel. The Javelin lost her wings in the process, but after several hundred meters she finally stopped.

Loosening her grip from the nose, Diana let herself fall down onto the grass below. After a second she lifted her head

"Kal!"

With no little effort she picked herself up and went to what was left of the command room.  
Clark wasn't moving.

"NO! Athena, I beg to thee, don't let this be happening! Kal, please return to me!" She amorously lifted his cape and began to remove the helmet as copious tears ran down her cheeks. Part of his face was scorched as well as his hands. Suddenly he took a violent gulp for air and opened his eyes looking around.

"You did it! I knew it... Attagirl," he said in a weak voice "I told you... I'd be fine," he said half smiling, before passing out.

Smiling and sobbing she managed to say, "Yes, you did." After that she fell on her knees, bursting into tears unrestrained.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**. God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen...

**Day 1.** (cont.)

Potentoris, Almerac's Capital City - Royal Palace's Throne Hall

Three hours after the Javelin's crash

Maxima looked very uneasy and uncomfortable on the throne. She had shifted positions numerous times and her expression was that of an angry dog chained at the backyard. With a worried face, Ceremonial Responsible, Lord Brega, lean to the throne asking the Queen in a low voice, "Anything wrong with the seat, Exalted One?"

"Everything is wrong! This chair is the worst we've ever sat upon," she exploded.

"But it was made by the finest artisans and craftsmen in all the Queendom, Exalted One, soon after you destroyed the previous one," Brega responded timidly.

"Then perhaps we should have their heads at the top of spears, alongside with yours, Lord Brega, if you keep arguing with us! Do you wish to continue," she hissed.

"I'm sorry, Exalted One. Didn't mean to inconvenience you with my nonsense. I'll be at the entrance, welcoming your guests, if you need me."

"Pray the Ancestors we won't" she looked at him as he distanced himself from the Throne, facing her and bowing every five steps.  
"Hour Page! What's the time," she shouted.

"It's two chrons past the Hour of Belm, Exalted One."

_"At last! It is done,"_ she thought as a half smile twisted her beautiful lips._ "All my problems concerning the kryptonian are finally over."_ "Mead Page," she ordered out loud. "Pour us a glass. We wish to drink to absent friends. Hurry!" her eyes began to flood with tears as she emptied her glass "My beloved Kal-El," she mused. "My lovely, lovely Kal-El!"

Lord Suupra, Royal Advisor, came hastily into the Hall from the Communications Center. He looked very agitated and his face exuded fear.  
"Exalted One, may I approach the Throne," he courteously asked.

"You may, Suupra. Be warned, though, We're in the mood to hear only good news," she told him, narrowing her amber eyes.

Suupra took a look at the nearest exit, trying to calculate if he could reach it before the Queen ordered a guard to shoot him. He concluded he'd never make it on time.

"Exalted One, we've received word from our watchers at the designated point." He tried to swallow, but his throat was as dry as desert's sand.

"And?" Her patience was running scarce.

"They've waited until twenty chrons past the 'H' hour." His forehead was moist in sweat. "The JL vehicle never showed."

"What do you mean 'never showed'? Couldn't it have been blown before getting to the designated point?" her voice, although it sounded upset, had a slight ring of hope to it.

"An explosion of that magnitude would have been noticed by our watchers, unless it occurred much earlier in their route," Lord Suupra tried to explain.

"Could they have found the device and deactivate it?" If someone could do it, the kryptonian and his friends certainly qualified, she thought.

"Not according to that weasel Desaad. And if they did, it would be too late to try anything" The advisor was confident in the device he himself had purchased.

"You put too much trust in those Apokoliptians. Never underestimate Kal-El. He's a very resourceful man." There was some kind of pride in her tone.

"Still, they would've passed in time by the designated point for our watches to see them, Exalted One," he said.

"However, one way or the other, we need confirmation. Send our watchers down the route of the Javelin to see what they can find. The Leaguers were not to arrive here for another couple of hours, so we still have time before the league deploys their forces, so let's try and find them first, understood?"

"Understood, Exalted One," he replied. He turned and began to move away, with a relieved expression.

"And, Suupra," she called him back.

"Yes, Exalted One?" he faced her again.

"We are NOT pleased." she punched him, sending his body to the end of the Hall."Mead Page!"  
After that, her mood improved greatly.

-0-

Potentoris - Almerac - A few hours later

Shayera was tired of dealing with her own people. Thanagar was always at war. Ultimately, the reason was not important: conquest, religious differences, territorial or commercial disputes. They enjoyed short periods of peace and then it was back to hostilities again. The faces of the enemy varied, but the rage and hatred remained.  
She wanted to make them see the error of their ways, but being labeled as a traitor didn't help. She rebelled against her own government when they tried to take over the Earth to destroy it for their own agenda. She'd been banned from Thanagar ever since.  
In fact, her being here in representation of the Justice League was at her own request. She really wanted to help. Now all she wanted was to finish this stupid assignment and return home. Yes, as weird as it sounded, Earth was Home now and the Justice League her Family.

"Hey, Shayera!" Adam Strange's voice took her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, Adam. Hi! I was lost in my own ruminations." She dragged herself back to business "Still no news from 'Trinity', I take it"

"Nothing. They should've arrived five hours ago. It's time to contact the League and start a search," he said.

"Are you sure? These are our three more capable members. Maybe they're attending to some emergency," Hawkgirl ventured.

"It seems more like they ARE the emergency. It's been six and a half hours since they should've exited the last wormhole on their way here, still, there's no communications from their part and the Javelin transponder remains unreachable," stated Strange. "I've waited as long as I could. It's not like them to cut all communications all of the sudden. Especially not Batman."

"Let's call the Watchtower, then. The Communications Center is on the east wing of the Palace." They got on their way.

At the C.C., and after obtaining the usual permits and signing the usual agreements, they finally got a booth to establish a link to the Watchtower.

"Link on. Begin scramble,r" Said the Martian Manhunter from the other side of the communication.

"Martian Manhunter, this is Member 0.08, Hawkgirl, from Almerac. A situation has arisen: Away Team 'Trinity' didn't arrived as expected, in fact there is no news of them or Javelin JL003." Shayera told him about the delay and the lack of communications.

"Acknowledge. We were expecting their comm-link five and a half hours ago as well. We just needed confirmation from you.  
Everything is prepared to depart on Javelin JL011. Away Team 'Triad', composed by Green Lantern 2814.3, Zatanna and myself will leave the Watchtower in one hour. Has any member of the government contacted you about this absence," asked J'onn. "I believe they were awaiting their presence too."

"Strangely, no. And they should be concerned, since we are here on behalf of the Queen" She looked over her shoulder at Adam. He shook his head confirming he hadn't been contacted either.

"Ask for an audience with Queen Maxima and find out what do they know," J'onn suggested.

"Roger. Will do that."_ 'Great! Now I'll have to deal with Maxi-bitch. Oh, no! On top of that, I'll have to face my ex. This mission keeps getting better and better'_ "That's all from here. Your ETA to Almerac?

"Hopefully, we'll be arriving in little more than nine hours"

"Roger that. We will talk then. Hawkgirl out" The comm-link was ended.

-0-

Royal Palace - Throne Hall - same time

Maxima was attending some matters of state with her cabinet with her natural efficiency. Contrary to appearances, she was a capable and expeditious ruler, with a strong sense of balance and justice. Keen enough to spot a rotten fish whenever her cabinet tried to take her for a fool (A few heads had rolled because of that), but she had her people's interests and wellbeing always in mind. A completely different thing were her personal affairs, in which she was capricious, unpredictable, unstable and violent whenever she couldn't get things her way.

Lord Suupra asked her to have a private conversation. The left side of his face was swollen and the eye black and blue. She dismissed her other personnel, and when they were alone, she said

"What did you find out? Speak!"

"Our watchers found traces of an explosion down on the route of the Earth ship." Maxima was hoping that, somehow, the Leaguers discovered her plans and Kal-El would still be alive. Her hopes rapidly vanished with these news. "All the debris was collected. It's theirs apparently, but further analysis is required. All evidence was erased and there's nothing that could lead the Justice League to us."

"Did they give you a location?" She must see for herself. She would go there and look for him.

"They said it was in the proximity of a binary system, and then we lost communication." Suupra was certain these would be his last words.

"You what! How is this possible! I must have proof!" Her royal 'we' slipped. This was never a good sign for Lord Suupra. She grabbed her advisor by the neck. "Do you know how many binary systems there are between the Earth and Almerac? Hundreds!"

With half a voice, Suupra tried to explain. "That route is frequently followed by our ships, Exalted One, therefore, a common target for pirate ambushes. Almerachian vessels are often sought after for their advanced technology and precious cargo!"

"We don't care how, but you better find them," her voice was rasp and menacing. "Or we will be drinking our mead from your hollowed skull!" Maxima released his neck. "Schedule keeper," the ruler ordered ."Cancel all our meetings for the day. we don't want to see anybody!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** - O Brave New World!

**Day 2**

Unknown Planet

Diana opened her eyes, not sure where she was. Her memories were fuzzy until she saw the black curls of his head resting on her shoulder. It all came back to her when she saw half of Clark's face and hands covered by bandages. She remembered removing him from the command chair and taking off his uniform.  
In the first-aid kit of the Javelin she found a pot with aloe-vera cream and gauze and she used them to treat Clarks burns. He was sweaty and shaking in fever, so she gave him an antibiotic shot and wash him with cold water to lower his temperature, then she covered him with his cape. After checking on Bruce to see if the stasis pod was functioning properly, she went back beside Clark and fell asleep, exhausted. How many hours went by she didn't know, but by the color of the sky she guessed it was breaking dawn.

Getting outside the Javelin, she had confirmation: both suns were rising on the horizon. She got to her knees

"Good morning, Eos, Rhododactylos one. I salute thee," she said as a prayer. "Thank you, Athena, for letting us see another morning miracle and for the life of my friends and mine."

She didn't have the time to look around during and after they crash-landed, but now an exploration was mandatory. Priority One: fresh water supply.

She went back inside to grab two Jerry-cans and the scanner. Before they crashed she remembered seeing with the corner of her eye what seemed to be a pond east to the forest in which they were in, so she headed that way. She probably would have to travel this route with Clark, so she'd better walk.  
As she was moving through the forest, it caught her attention the color magenta of the vegetation, with stems, branches and trunks of a dark bloody red. She put her hand on them to see how they felt to the touch. They were much like Earth vegetation, only different in color. Or so she thought.

She moved towards what looked like an aloe vera plant, to see if it could help treat Clark's injuries. At first she was startled because the plant moved as she approached. Not taking any chance, she draw her xiphos sword and touched one of the leaves with it, which shook on contact and tried to grab the blade. When she retired the sword violently, she cut the tip of the leaf-tentacle, and it fell to the ground. The gel pouring out of it began dissolving the vegetation as it touched it.

"Acid gel!" she said. "Sorry, Kal, no cure here." Had her sword not been forged by Hephaestus' magic, its steel would have melted just like the grass. Diana thrust the blade into the ground to remove the rest of the gel.

As she was getting away, a winged blue squirrel with a beak for a snout flew low over the plant. In an instant, an appendage was projected by it, capturing the animal, dragging it into its entrails. All the leaves-tentacles closed on the unfortunate screeching beast, all the body of the "vegetable" shook as it was digesting its victim.

"Gaea!, is all the plant life in this planet as friendly," she wondered. After a brief examination, she concluded that the creature was probably an animal camouflaged as a plant. Or maybe a combination of both.  
To avoid further incidents until she get to know the flora and fauna better, she decided to go round the forest, by the outskirts. Clark and Bruce were in a closed chamber, so Diana was relieved none of the wild life could get to them. The estranium hull and bulkheads were strong enough to stop anything that would come against them.

A mile and a half later she encountered the pond. It was a delicious spot and it even had a little cascade over some rocks at a side. Drawing the scanner she tested the water. Nothing unusual, just regular H2O.  
It was a beautiful spring-like day, so she took off her clothes and decided to go for a swim. After a while, she went back to the rocky shore to clean her armor. With her back to the suns, facing the shore, distractedly singing Coldplay's "The hardest part" out loud and swinging her hips as she washed her uniform.

"...Silver lining the cloud. Oh and IIIIII! I wish that I could work it... WOAH!"

A huge shadow obstructed the sun's light from behind. Turning instantaneously she saw a tremendous beast, about fifteen feet tall, rising from the water, purple in color, with orange spots on its back and the mouth ended in a beak, same as the ill-fated blue squirrel from before. As she began to move towards her sword, the animal, after giving her a careless look, turned its head to a tree on the shore. Once the animal reached the tree, it began nibbling its leaves. Once it got a mouthful of leaves,t moved in Diana's direction, chewing leaves and lowering its head, looking at the Princess with dreamy eyes. The Amazon extended slowly her arm and began caressing its forehead.

"Well, big friend, hello to you too. At least, some animals in this place seem a lot friendlier." A wide smile replaced her surprised expression. The beast moved its head to the tree again, and after another mouthful, returned to claim Diana's attention. Wonder Woman was pleasantly surprised her empathy with animal life worked even here, light years away from Gaea, the Earth "You seem to know which plants are edible, so I will ask you later to point them to me, okay, uuhm...Argos," she added after remembering Odysseus dog's name.

Waiting for her clothes to dry, Diana played with Argos, climbing to his head and letting the monster drop her into the water. Every time she surfaced, the beast splashed the water all around him in excitation.

"I'm sorry, my friend, but I have to go. I promise I'll be back tomorrow to play with you, okay?" she said stroking his head. Argos' expression turn into one of sadness "Oh, please! Don't look at me like that." Her arms tried to encircle Argos' neck, unsuccessfully. "I have another friend who needs me, but I'll return, really." She started dressing and Argos moved to the other side of the pond.

As the beast was sinking back in the water, Diana secured the scanner in her belt and with a two gallon Jerrycan filled with water in each hand took off towards the Javelin. She noticed the sky, now that the suns were up, had the color of lilacs. That was probably because the red sun was eclipsing almost totally the white dwarf, tinting everything with a warmer light.

Clark was already up and moving around, making breakfast when she landed near the Javelin.

"Kal, you shouldn't be up," she told him with a worried expression.

"Aah, bon jour, mon petit Christine" he responded with an exaggerated french accent. "There is no Kal here. You can call me Erik." He was showing the covered side of his face to her.

"Erik, Chris...oh! I see. And where is your organ, monsieur Phantom of the Opera," she retorted.

"Very good! You've got me on the spot! Ha, ha... Ow,ow!" he touched the right side of his face in pain. He wasn't new to pain but he wasn't accustomed to it either.

"Kal, oh Kal. You should be resting. Let me see." She touched his forehead checking for fever.

"I'm okay. I have no fever, thanks to your ministrations. I made us something to eat. There were some supplies left in the food and beverage machine storage. We have some bread, jam, peanut butter...there's green tea for you and coffee for me, is it okay," he asked.

"It's perfect! You've been a busy little bee." She sat in the picnic like display he prepared. "Still, I think you shouldn't exert yourself this much."

"Nonsense, Princess." She gave him a warning look. She hated him calling her Princess "Sorry, Di. I'll be fine. Even under this red sun I'm five times stronger than the strongest of men, and heal five times faster, too. My kryptonian physiology is of great help in this conditions, and my people thrived under a red sun. I think I can manage."

"I'll be the judge of that. I'm the nurse. After breakfast I'm going to change your bandages." Her tone was adamant.

"Okay. In the mean time, let me tell you what I've being doing: I've downloaded every data Bruce collected on this planet, via the Javelin sensors, to a tablet and have been studying it." He moved beside her with the tablet in his hand and began to show her "Looks like 'Fred' is a..."

"Fred?" She looked at him with curiosity.

"'Fred': this planet," he said affirmatively, pointing a finger to the ground.

"'FRED'!" She was astonished "Couldn't you find a more suitable name other than 'Fred'?"

"'Fred' is as good a name as any! What's so marvelous about the name 'Earth', anyway? It sounds like a disgusted expression: 'Have you seen her hairdo. Eearth!'" he defended himself. "Now, seriously: this planet was discovered by Bruce, right?"

"Right" she said.

"I am NOT calling this place 'Wayneworld' or something that contributes to enlarge our friend's oversized ego, are you following me?"

"Hmmm." She still could not believe him.

"So I figured," he continued "why not paying homage to a great man and Bruce's surrogate father, Alfred Pennyworth, Al-FRED: 'Fred'. I think Bruce would agree, don't you?"

"Ooooh, I see!" her eyes softened. She cared deeply for the thespian-butler-soldier-spy "'Fred' it is, then" she lean to kiss the left side of his face.

"Why was that," he asked, smiling.

"Because you are very sweet." She lowered her eyes.

After a silent pause, he continued.

"So, 'Fred?'"

"Yes, yes." She was back in business.

"Quite a miraculous place this is. It's almost impossible for a planet circling around a binary system of this nature -a red giant and a white dwarf- to retain an atmosphere, let alone a breathable one. The gravitational pull of the two stars is tremendous, specially the white dwarf. Both stars occupy a space equivalent to the orbit of Venus in our solar system. There's one planet between Fred and the suns, but it's nothing except a barren rock. 'Fred's' orbit is quite large, like Jupiter's, but, because it moves slightly faster, it covers it in little over 10 years, and its rotation cycle is almost like our home's: 23.8 hours. It's size is 1.3 times that of our Earth and has 3/4 of its surface covered by water. In top of that, this planet also shelters life. From what I can see a varied one."

"Oh, you have no idea," mused Diana.

"I think the reason why this planet is able to retain it's atmosphere is the ring around it. It is composed by magnetite rock, which creates an electromagnetic field preventing the gases to escape to space," Clark continued.

"Wait a minute. Electromagnetic field," asked Diana. "That means that the signal of our homing beacon will be so distorted that no one would be able to pick it up and locate us. Nobody will ever find us, Kal!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4** - "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, A tale of a fateful trip"

**DAY 2** (cont.)

"Kal, if our signal can't break through the electromagnetic field of the ring, we'll be stranded here for good," Diana repeated.

Clark actually could think in a lot of things worse than a "Gilligan's Island" situation with this woman, but he also had his responsibilities and obligations. An entire world to protect. Somehow that series' musical theme began to play inside his head involuntarily. _'Oh, no. Now I'm Homer Simpson,'_ he thought.

"Hmmm. Yeah. The solution would be to move the beacon far from the influence of the field," he voiced instead. "Unfortunately, the farthest I can lift from this ground at this moment is a yard and a half."

"I can go," Diana said with absolute certainty. "The longest I can stand space conditions without gear, though, is an hour, an hour and a half, at most," calculated the Princess. "It should be enough. The problem is I didn't pinpoint the location of the beacon when I finally released it. I was otherwise engaged." She shrugged.

"You would probably spend more time than you have trying to locate the device. And our gear burned when we entered the atmosphere. How good are you at sewing," he joked. Diana pushed him, making him lose his balance "Hey," he protested.

She ignored him. "I could perform a methodic search for it in several trips until I find it."

"That's an idea," he said. "How will you know when your time is up?" The idea of her floating in orbit forever didn't appeal him.

"That's your part." She looked at him. He had a puzzled look on his face "You forget this friend here," she said, tapping her Lasso affectionately."...can strech indefinitely. All I have to do is tie it to my waist and you give it a pull from down here when I run out of time."

"BEFORE you run out of time," he corrected her.

"Right."

"Excellent!" He applauded with his bandaged hands. "We have our course of action! Still, I say we accommodate ourselves in this place as good as possible before we do anything else."

"First of all I need to see your wounds, Phantom. Let's go inside." They picked up the blanket and the few things they used for breakfast and moved inside the Javelin.

Incredibly, the burns on his face and hands were already halfway to recovery. She applied another dose of the aloe-vera cream (the last, since the pot was meant for first aid only and not prolonged treatment) but decided to leave them uncovered to let the air and sunlight do their part. Even under a red sun, kryptonians were able to absorb its radiation and draw energy from it. It wouldn't be as beneficial as a yellow sun's, but it would do, nonetheless.

"Hey, I look like Two-Face," he said, looking at his reflection on an inoperative console monitor. "Now I will go mad and turn into an evil bastard. Muah-ha-ha!" He raised his hands as claws, menacing Diana.

"Kal! Shut up! Don't even joke about it! You don't look anything like him," she strongly reprimanded him. "And your beautiful face will be back as it was in no time, you'll see!" 'Oh, Gaea. Did I say 'beautiful,' she thought, blushing.

He felt horrible. "Sorry, Di. I was just goofing around. I know I'll be fine, thanks to you." He smiled at her.

Her face was half mad, half embarrassed, and definitely lovely.  
Oh, he heard her, alright, and he knew this outburst was more than friendly concern. He was discovering strong feelings towards her, and she didn't seem indifferent to him either, but as long as there was a possibility of being rescued, he decided he couldn't act upon them. He had his share of problems by having a relationship with a co-worker. The bitterness between Lois and him was still so harsh that he requested Perry a position as foreign correspondent. He wouldn't let that happen with Diana. Ever. She was too important for him. Yet sometimes the desire of..., no. _'Cool down your jets, Kent,'_ he ordered himself. Somewhere inside his head sounded, "...for a three hour tour, a three hour tour..." _'Stop it! Oh, boy, I'm really loosing it.'_

"How about we find a place to set up camp," he asked, shaking those thoughts away.

"I believe I already have the perfect spot. Why don't you go to the Command Room as I take us there?" When Clark took position at the command room, Diana lifted the Javelin and flew them pass the forest to a clearing, one hundred yards from the pond. This time, before they landed, Clark deployed the landing gear. After landing the vessel she went where Clark was getting out of the vessel and said, "She seems a lot less heavy when her momentum hasn't been exponentially augmented by acceleration."

Clark took a side of the hull and tried to pick it up "Nngggh! Okay, from now on, I'm leaving the heavy lifting to you."

"Kal, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to rub it in your face," the Princess apologized.

"'I'm sorry' is a phrase I don't want to hear from you as long as we stay here," he warned her "Our gifts never were something to be ashamed of. You've never apologized for them before others, so. please, don't do it with me because I don't have mine at the moment."

"I'm sorry, I...I...  
I'll be silent now" she said lowering her eyes

"Hmmm, you do that." he gave her a serious look, but then he smiled. Turning his back to her as he was getting back inside, he exclaimed, raising his arms and trying to fake the voice of a little kid, "Oh, Wonder Woman. You are so big and strong and I'm such a little, defenseless boy" and began to laugh.

"Shut up!" She slapped his shoulder lightly. She knew that behind all these attempts at comedy, there was something heavier going on inside. The loss of his powers couldn't be as inconsequential as he made it seem. She would let it pass as unnoticed for now.

"We can't make our living accommodations in here," he said looking at the barracks room of the Javelin. "It's too small and we'll be really cramped."

"I agree. We can use this as sleeping chambers, but We'll have to temporarily set up a tent outside to shelter us and our things from the elements," she pointed out. "I say we first make an inventory, to see what assets do we have"

"You start with that. I will check Bruce's stasis pod and disconnect all non essential systems, so the battery will last longer," he told her. "We must know how long we have until the Javelin batteries start failing."

She nodded.

The Javelin's inhabitable chambers were two. At the front, 4.5 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters tall, was the arrowhead-shaped Command Room, where every system, control and interface that operated the ship were, with five positions: The Command chair, center bow, where the helm and main weapon controls were, behind and port side of it was the Science Console, where all tests, scans and analyses took place, and beside it, the Systems Console, where all systems of the ship were being monitored constantly. starboard to the Control Chair was the Navigation Console, where all routes and flight plans were laid out and monitored, before sending them to the controls of the Command Chair and beside it the Tactical Console, where secondary weapon control and battle layout resided. At the back of the room was the the food and beverage supplying machine and a hatch, connecting to the barracks room.

The barracks room was where off duty personnel rested and took breaks. It was a 5 meters long by 3.5 meters. wide and 2.5 meters high room, with two couchettes at each side (total four) 1 meter deep. Under each couchette was a sliding compartment to store clothes and personal effects of the crew. At the entrance, at each side of the connecting hatch, there were two standing stasis pods for emergencies. At stern, stood a small table bolted to the wall with two stools and port to it, was the hatch to the rest room, with a chemical toilet, a sink and a shower. At the other side of the table, the access airlock, which communicated with the outside, and the closet with four EVA suits. Over the table, embedded in the stern wall, was a locker with hand-held instruments for exploration, hand weaponry and a first-aid kit.

As Diana went through the compartments to find things they could use, she found a strip of condoms inside a sunglasses case. _"These men. Even on a mission they expect to have some. So typically male,"_ she thought, frowning. Turning the case around, she saw the name "Kori" written on the back_ "Oops! 'Silly, you women-so very adept at wrongly faulting men, not seeing you're alone to blame for faults you plant in man's mind,'"_ she recited mentally, changing the gender of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz famous words. At the back of her own drawer she encountered a deck of cards "Kal, I've found the solution for boring times," she said, waving the cards.

"Good thing for you I can't use my X-ray vision, or I'd rob you naked," he joked.

"Would you cheat?" She was aghast. "Have you ever?"

"It depends on how big the pot is." After a pause he laughed. "Nah! I'm joking. I would never cheat, especially on you. Be warned, though, I was taught by the best poker player in all Finney County, one Mr. Jonathan Kent."

"Warn yourself. I'm not bad either. Remember that one of the things that make me a fine fighter is my ability to read people's intentions. But I don't need to rob you naked, I've seen all there's to see when I sponge-bathed you." Realizing that she just said that last sentence out loud she went_ 'Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea!'_ in her head.

"You sponge-bathed me?" _'Oh, my gosh'_ Clark thought_ 'That's so awesome-embarrassing-hot-naughty-horrible-kinky-inappropriate-sexy-cool...'_the non scorched part of his face got scarlet.

"Y-you were burning in fever! I had to cool you down somehow! I-I was nursing you!" The Princess tried to keep her cool, but her face was red hot._ 'Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea, Oh, Gaea!'_

"Yes...o-of course, of course...thank you," he babbled. Trying to make the awkward moment go away, he commented "Speaking of X-Ray vision, I wish I could use it now on Bruce, to see if there's something we can do to help him."

Thankful for the change of subject, Diana explained, "For what I saw, he is beyond our possibilities of helping him. He needs serious care. Professional attention and, at least, a couple of sessions under the Purple Ray." She then asked, "How long before we have to worry about the batteries?"

"I've downloaded all of the useful data to this tablet, for as long as we can use it, and shut down every system other than the stasis pod. According to the computer, it should last about 1000 days, give or take a week," he informed her.

"A thousand days, that's about 2 years and nine months. Hopefully, we'll be home long before that," she said trying to show confidence.

"Sure we will," he responded.

_"So this is the tale of the castaways, _

_They're here for a long, long time, _

_They'll have to make the best of things,_

_ It's an uphill climb."_

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Thank you for all the reviews.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5** - A love before time

**Day 2** (cont.)

Potentoris - Location Unknown - Hour of Hann

Shayera opened one green eye, but a strand of her own red hair obstructed her vision. She wave it away with a flick of her hand and then she saw his face.

"who...?" Whoever he was, his face was noble and strong, with a rough handsomeness. The room was unfamiliar too ."where...?" When she looked down, she saw both their naked bodies "WHAT," she shouted. This woke him up. The look on his face was as shocked as hers. His eyes were dark and intense, his hair an the feathers of his wings, black as a raven's. He looked at her in disbelief, which soon turned into disgust.

"Traitor," he spat.

She tried to cover herself with the sheets as she jumped out of bed "What am I doing here! WHAT-DID-YOU-DO-TO-ME!"

"To you! Ha! You must've brainwashed me to make me lie with the likes of you!" He stood up also, not bothering in covering himself. He was tall, over 6 feet, and athletic. His wings were shaking nervously.

"Don't flatter yourself! I wouldn't touch you with a laser beam from a hundred yards." Her eyes roamed all over his body, nonetheless. "I must get out of here, wherever here is." She began to pick up her clothes from all over the room.

"You are in the Thanagarian Delegation accommodations, and I can have you arrested for this. Consider yourself lucky it's only me and four other military attach es that came to Almerac first to check the security arrangements." He went into the bathroom.

"Yes, I already met three of your 'TWERL' companions." She could clearly hear him urinating, since he didn't close the door. 'Charming,' she thought furiously as she began dressing.  
Suddenly, all memories of the previous night assaulted her at once.

-0-

After the Queen's Schedule Keeper told them the monarch was indisposed and the soonest the Exalted One would receive them was tomorrow at the hour of Tarin (that would be at noon), she and Adam had agreed on a meeting time and parted ways. He was going back to the C.C. to contact his wife at Rann, and she went to have dinner back where she was staying.  
At least, the diner was a pleasant place, small and quiet. She sat at a table by the furthest corner, hoping not to cross paths with any of her compatriots.

She hoped.

"You dare come here to ruin our meals, traitor." The large shadow of a Thanagarian male stood a few paces from her table.

"You can go anywhere else if you don't like the company," she said in a tired tone.

"I kind of like it here. I'd rather throw you out of this place," he spat in a contemptuous way.

"You can try. Please do." she added in a defiant manner, caressing the handle of her mace.

"What name should I have written on your tombstone besides 'Traitor,'" He asked, raising his sword.

"When you get to the fifth hell, you can tell Sekkel that Shayera Thal sent you." She pushed her seat back and stood in guard. "How shall I call the mark I'll make in the handle of my mace after your demise at my hands." Her tone was stone cold.

"Ha ha ha! I'm really going to enjoy killing you," he roared. "And it's Commander Katar Hol, by the way" he swung his sword as they began circling each other.

In the same precise moment their Nth metal weapons collided, an image of them standing in a sand desert location, in front of triangular shaped buildings, holding hands and surrounded by a multitude of people cheering for them, the ruling winged Gods, appeared in both their minds.

"My Queen Chai-Ara! Magpie!" he said

"My Lord Khufu! Peacock!" She responded.

They both dropped their weapons and, with a flutter of wings they passionalely embrace and kiss each other.

"In Haani's name, what's this? What's happening to us?" she asked

"I don't know, and right now, I don't care." After they picked their weaponry, he took her in his arms and they exited the diner directly to his chambers.

-0-

A tremor shook her body remembering the passion of last night. Never in her life had she felt like that.  
It was more than physical. A love as ancient as the desert sands themselves had invaded both of them and exploded inside their souls. It was communion. It was perfection.

"Chai-Ara?" he looked at her from the bathroom door with a mouth full of tooth cleaner. He seemed to have had a total recall as well. He rinsed his teeth.

"Khufu" she responded.

"What sorcery is this? Why do I have this memories of us?" He went to her and held her hands taking them to his lips.

"I don't...I can't seem to move away from them either. All I know is I remember us being a couple long time ago. And the place seems familiar. I've seen it on Earth." She put her forehead againt his hands.

"Earth? I've never been there. In that campaign I was asigned on one of the other worlds that will form the Hyperspace Bypass Chain," he recalled. "I remember there was a traitor..."

When she heard that, began to distance her from him "You mean me..."

"No, I mean in our past. The reason our former selves, if that is what our visions are, got separated," he corrected her.

"No. This is impossible. There must be an explanation." She tried to let go his hands, but his grip was firm.

"All I know is what I feel right now is too strong."

He was still naked and she hadn't finish dressing either. Looking down between them she said, "And hard."

They decided to leave the questions for later.

-0-

Potentoris - Royal Palace - Three hours later

It was already the hour of Tarin. Adam Strange was about to get inside the Throne Hall alone, when Hawkgirl came running down the corridor.

"I'm here..., I'm here! I'm sorry!"

"Oh, good! Any problems," he asked.

"Nothing. Just got entertained by a Thanagarian delegate," she responded.

"Those guys are a pain in the butt," he pointed.

"Not only there," she said significantly.

Unsure of what she meant, Strange said, "Right."

The Hall doors opened as they entered. Maxima received them with a worried frown.

"Ah! The Leaguers. At last. My dear Alan..."

"Adam. Adam Strange, Exalted One," he corrected her, with a reverence.

"...and the Bird Woman..." Maxima continued

_'Why you'_..."'HAWKGIRL', Exalted buns." said Shayera, lowering her head.

"Girl? Hmm, Sure. Whatever. Do you have any news of our...'Trinity' was the operative name, right?  
We are becoming worried sick," said the Queen, faking dismay.

"Actually, Exalted One, we were hoping your personnel would know something." Adam asked, "Weren't they monitoring their journey?"

"Well...yes, of course they were. We lost contact the same time everyone else did," said Maxima, tripping with each word.

"May I ask, just to compare notes, Exalted, at what time was this?" Shayera felt the eyes of the ruler drilling a hole in her head. "And why didn't your people contact us the moment they felt something was wrong, Exalted?"

"We're not an Hour Page! About the same time everybody did!" Something about the way this winged lady said 'Exalted' made the Queen lose her composure. "Dare you question us? It was YOU who should've contacted us when YOUR team failed to report!"

Adam's elbo subtlely touched Shayera's ribs, telling her they better go.

"Indeed we should have, Exalted One. Our back up team, 'Triad', is about to arrive any minute now, so we must be going.  
Do you wish them to report to you directly? If not, we'll keep your personnel posted on every developement. Thanks for your time and gracious patience." Adam took a bow and so did Hawkgirl.

"Mmm. You may leave." Maxima moved her hand as she would wave a fly away.

The moment they were out of the palace, Adam said, "That went well."

"Have you notice how nervous she got back there," pointed Shayera. "It's evident she is hiding something."

"Yeah. But interrogating the Queen will take us nowere. Let's go meet with J'onn and the rest and figure out a plan."

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Thanks for the reviews.

Sorry for staying too long in Day 2. I have to establish the situation and environment before moving forward.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6** - Gimme shelter

**Day 2** (cont.)

Planet Fred

Diana was looking inside the locker at the back of the barracks room when she stumbled upon a small guitar.

"What's this, a ukulele," she asked, showing it to Clark.

"Oh, no. It has six strings, you see? A ukulele has only four and it's smaller. That is John's guitar. It's his student guitar, from when he was a kid. He must be looking for it everywhere."

"Okaaay...and what is it doing on board of a javelin?" She frowned.

"As a Green Lantern, John is used to traveling the universe literally at the speed of will, so you can imagine these looong Javelin trips are an endless torture for him, so he brings this guitar with him to pass time easily. He's an accomplished musician. He plays the piano, as well, and has a beautiful singing voice," Clark explained.

"I've heard him singing. It's true, he sings as he was touched by Euterpe herself. A great baritone voice. Why did he bring this with him? Why not make a construct of a guitar with his ring," Diana asked.

"You know? I asked him the same question once, and he told me there are things a Power Ring can't do, like the subtlety of the wood grain vibrational properties, or the combination of various strings sounding in accordance," he said. "I wonder how could he have forgotten her here."

"He was probably too eager to get under Mari's panties," joked the Princess.

"Di! I'm shocked to hear you say that," he pretended to chastise her.

"Sorry. I think it's all the gossip going around the Watchtower that's rubbed off on me," she excused herself.

"Yeah. I understand you. Even though you want to stay apart, it pulls you in." He added, "Have you ever heard all they say about you and me?"

"Oh, Hera! Give me a break! Imagine what would they say if they see us in our current situation," she responded.

Clark rapidly said, "They don`t understand!"

"No. They don't..."

Her words were followed by a prolonged silence. Clark finally broke it by saying, "Let me see that." He pointed at the guitar.

Clark took the instrument and began caressing the strings "She has a beautiful sound, but she's slightly out of tune." He began turning the pins as he stroked the chords.

Diana was looking at this amazed. "You play the guitar? I had no idea."

"I'm a man of many talents. How do you think I charmed the ladies back in high school, or in the evenings around a bonfire by Finney creek?"

"I bet you were a "super suave" ladies man, back then, huh," she teased him.

"There," he said, satisfied with the sound. "Not quite, but it did go well with Lana. I told you about her, didn't I?"

"Yes. Your High school sweetheart." He began to play the introduction of 'Hotel California' by the Eagles "Kal, that's lovely! You do it so well!"

"I'm a little rusty. It's been a while and my hands are too big for the size of her fretboard." He stopped playing. "We have work to do" he looked at her disappointed face. Trying an Elvis impersonation, he said, "Don't worry, pretty lady, I'll work my mesmerizing magic on you tonight, after dinner. And I'll be signing autographs too."

"Yay! It feels so good to be reduced to a groupie by your own best friend," said the Amazon. "Thanks, Kal"

Clark laid the guitar amorously on one of the top bunks.  
After finishing with the inventory, they sat at the table and began planning.

"First: shelter" Clark said.

"Agreed. We'll have to gather materials. About two miles back, at the beginning of the woods, we lost the wings of the Javelin. I think those estranium panels would be great to build the roof. I'll go and get them when we finish," proposed Diana.

"Good! We'll have to chop some trees to set the structure and walls. I think we must not cannibalize too much of the Javelin materials, because it's a solid, strongly built, estranium structure..." began Clark.

"...That we could use to fortify ourselves in case of an outside attack. I totally agree," She said, finishing his sentence. Clark responded with a smile. "What," Diana asked.

"Nothing. Let's go on," dismissed the Last Son of Krypton.

They went on for hours, stopping only to grab a bite. Clark began to draw a floor plan of the structure on the tablet, to which Diana made the modifications and suggestions she deemed important. When both of them were absolutely satisfied, the young woman stood up and solemnly said, "As Princess of the Amazon Nation and heir to the Throne of Themyscira, I baptize this project 'The Fortress of Solely Two.'"

Clark looked at her, incredulous and wide eyed. After two seconds, he exploded "Bwah-hahahaha!" at what Diana willingly followed. When he could stop laughing, he said, with tears in his eyes, "Supreme! Perfect! The name stays! I don't think Bruce would disagree. Unfortunately, our 'Batsicle' friend won't be able to set foot in the Fortress."

"'Batsicle'? Kal! That's so horribly mean! Poor Bruce!" And they both broke into laughter again.

After a while, Diana went to retrieve the wings and began straightening the twisted panels. Meanwhile, Clark was taking measurements and marking the terrain where the foundations would be. It was hot, so he removed his T-shirt, involuntarily provoking many distractions to her.

"Kal, I don't think it's wise to be bare chested under the sun," she warned him. "You may burn your skin."

"It's okay, Di. I believe I'll be able to absorb more sunlight radiation this way. Besides it's too damn hot out here. I've never sweat like this before." He smelled his arm pits "Oh, hell! I smell like a football stadium's locker room!"

"You do? Then you better go take a bath down the pond afterwards. Don't you dare get into the room smelling like that, or I'll toss you down the access ramp," the Princess threatened him.

"Yes, mom!" He rolled his eyes.

When he finished marking the ground of what would be the 'Fortress' floor, he asked the Amazon, "Can you lend me that sword of yours? I have no tool to clear the terrain of all the weeds."

"Her name is Eunice. It wasn't forged with that in mind, but I'm sure Hephaestus would understand. Here!" She presented him with the handgrip ."careful, though, it's very sharp. VERY."

"I'll be careful. Hello, Eunice." And he began cutting the tall grass from a sixty square yards area. "Hey, this is extraordinary. I'm not exerting any effort at all. The weed practically cuts itself. I'm changing my mind about magic."

After finishing, he collected all the severed weeds and piled them at a side. It was already half past four.  
He got into the Javelin to pick up a soap and a towel.

"I'm going for a bath," he told her, making his way to the pond.

"Enjoy," she responded.

The water was exquisite and he really was enjoying it, so the bath he took was a long one.

Diana was trying to put her mind in something else. For her keen eyes, a hundred yards -the distance to the pond- was nothing, so she forced herself to look elsewhere.

_"No, Diana, NO!. Think of something else. On Earth such a relationship would be, at least, problematic. Here and with the loss of his abilities -which he refuses to acknowledge properly- it would be a disaster."_ She remembered Steve and how he tried to overcompensate for the lack of superpowers. That ended badly. Ultimately, he was physically and emotionally hurt._"No. I won't ever let that happen with Kal. He is too important to me. I have to be his friend and help him cope with being a normal person, even if I have to punch it inside his head, until we can return home, which we will. Wise Aphrodite, grant me strength."_

"I'm done, Di. The pond is all yours." He was going back to the Javelin for a fresh set of clothes.

"A-alright. Thank you." She was so taken by her thoughts, she didn't hear him coming. When she finally put all the panels in a ordered pile, she slowly moved to the pond._ "Oh, yes. Cold water will do me a lot of good."_

As Clark was putting on clean jeans, he could hear a murmur. It sounded like shouting. "It's Di's voice!" He wondered if she was calling him. When he heard a deep roaring, everything accelerated. He picked a Plaser pistol from the locker and ran towards the pond. "Di! I'm coming," he shouted in desperation.

Diana was near the shore, with the water to her thighs, and behind her a huge purple monster. Without thinking, Clark took a shot at the beast. Diana's sharp senses perceive it and jumped between the two, deflecting the Plaser blast with her bracelets crossed.

"Kal, wait!" She was floating in front of Argos, agitating her open arms, trying to protect the beast. Completely naked. "He's my friend!"

Clark froze at the vision of her. The plaser pistol fell out of his hand.  
For about ten seconds everything froze and they kept still, looking at each other, then, at the same exact moment, Diana took cover behind Argos and Clark turned his back to her, looking at the other side.

"I'm sorry, Di. I heard a roar and thought you were in danger. I wasn't thinking," he apologized. "Who's Barney?"

"I didn't mean to alarm you, Kal. I call him Argos, I forgot to tell you about him. We've met here at the pond this morning. I think he likes me," Diana answered smiling.

_'What's not to like,'_ he thought.

"It's okay." He picked up the gun. "I'll let you both enjoy your bath." The image of the Amazon in all her naked glory burnt in his brain deeper than the the wounds on his face, and he knew this one wouldn't ever heal. But something else was eating him._ "You're so stupid, Kent. Di is perfectly capable of take care of herself. What makes you think you can protect her without your abilities? Stupid imbecile."_

An hour and a half later, the Princess returned from her bath. She wanted to get out of her uniform, so she took a dress from her drawer. It was a simple tunic, green in color, without sleeves and tied at the waist. Everyday garment, as she called it. She noticed a change in Clark's mood, less chatty. They sat on the grass outside to have the last remains of the food they've brought with them. They talked about next day activities. She would take Argos to show her which plants were edible, and she and Clark would have to see the ones they could use among them.

After dinner, Clark excused himself from the guitar concert he'd promised.

"Are you feeling okay?" she said, checking his temperature.

"Yes, mom. I'm just tired. It's been a long day, and I haven't felt quite myself lately. I'll give you a rain check for the guitar concert, okay," he said.

"Okay." She watched him walk to his bunk with a hunched back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**. All creatures great and small

**Day 3**

Planet Fred. 7 a.m.

_"Black Flower I like. She's like the flowers that grow deep in the forest, with their black petals and beautiful smell. Her top is surrounded by a thick mass of shining black petals that floats around her, and she smells like Spring. She calls me 'Rgs', and she says it in a soft, sweet tone. Black Flower plays with me and strokes my head, just the way I like. When she speaks to me, I can see what she is saying and she sees what I'm saying. I'd do anything Black Flower asked me to. She wants me to show her food. It's silly. Can't she see what food is? Anyway, I'll show her food._  
_I don't know why I have to carry Burnt Log. Burnt Log I don't like. Black Flower's smell changes when she sees him. Her scent turns more like his. I don't like his smell. He's always in heat. He wants to mate with Black Flower. Black Flower also wants to mate with him, but she covers her hairless skin when she's with him. I don't understand. I don't want Black Flower's smell to change, she smells like Spring. Burnt Log tried to hurt me with Fire From Above. How does he hurl Fire From Above? I don't like Burnt Log. He called me "Brn-e". He's bigger than Black Flower, but he seems a lot weaker than her. Black Flower can float like buzzing bugs or flapping beasts, but with no buzzing nor flapping. I like Black Flower. She smells like Spring. I wish we could leave Burnt Log behind, so Claws Everywhere can eat him. Here she goes, stroking my head again. I like Black Flower. She smells like Spring."_

"Seems like Barney likes what you're doing, Di," Clark said. "Hey, big fella'! Thank you for showing us what to eat!"

"His name is Argos, Kal. Be careful, he doesn't understand words, but he can read intentions," Diana replied. "He has yet to forgive you from yesterday's misunderstanding"

Yes, Clark remembered all too well the incidents of the last day. His eidetic memory registered every inch of her skin. _"No. Don't go there, Kent,"_ he said to himself, shaking his head at the thought of last night's dream and today's morning wood, which took more than half an hour to come down. To all the reasons why she was well out of his league, namely her being a Princess and he just a farm boy from Kansas, or her being the most beautiful woman in several worlds, now he had to add his lack of powers. He had to chuckle at the thought that not even Maxima would accept him like this. Of all the things Maxima could have done to him, this one, leaving him defenseless in the company of the woman he would like to impress the most, seemed the worst. Ironically, Maxima would probably never know it."

"Kal, Argos is pointing at that bush over there. The one with the green fruits." The Amazon's words brought him back to their task. He was making a map of the location and description of all the plants that Argos usually ate quite a lot. Actually, this one was the first fruit plant.

"I need to see that." He descended from Argos back to the ground and walked towards the bush.

"Kal, be careful." Diana put her hand on the pommel of Eunice.

"Sure. I want to know what these babies taste like." He grabbed one of the green fruits, rubbed it against his shirt and took a bite.

"Kal! We don't know if these fruits are poisonous! They can even be corrosive to your...OUR digestive system! We know nothing about them," she chided him. She didn't want to point out that he was now the most endangered of them two.

"Mmmm! I know now that they're delicious! Here! Think fast!" He threw one to Diana and another to Argos, who caught it with his beak "There you go, boy. They look like kiwi, but taste like grapes," he said.

"Mm-hmm." The Princess bit the fruit as well. "Yes, they are very juicy and tasty, Kal, but still..."

"Di, this is a risk that we'll have to take sooner or later. We have no way to know for sure about how dangerous these vegetables and fruits are. We'll have to trust our purple friend here. He seems well fed, don't you think," he joked.  
"And, besides, I had no breakfast and I'm starving"

"I'm just saying," she began.

"I know what you mean. Don't worry. I'll be fine." Making an improvised bag by pulling out the front of his T-shirt, he began to pick many 'kipes' (as he started to call them), while eating some and throwing others to the Amazon and her friend.

"You know what," Diana said looking at one of them. "I think I can make wine out of these."

"You know how to make wine? Atta girl," he exclaimed in genuine surprise. "I knew classical Greek education had its benefits!" He stared at a tall grass growing some fifty yards from where they were with farmer's eyes. "That looks a lot like wheat. I'm having closer look."

"But, Kal...!" Diana rolled her eyes knowing that asking him to be careful was pointless.  
She and Argos felt it at the same time. Moving slowly, against the wind, a pack of creatures, magenta in color, like the vegetation, with blue stripes and blue beaks shaped like a hook, were quietly surrounding Clark.

Argos emitted a growl, in which Diana could hear,_"Claws Everywhere!"_  
"KAL!" The Amazon jumped in his direction, landing in between him and the animals, Eunice in hand. "Kal, behind me!"  
The animals, no more than seven, the size of big dogs, had their fingers ended in blue claws, sharp as knifes.  
Used to fighting beside this woman, Clark put his back against hers. Taking the initiative, he began to throw 'kipes' to the beasts' faces, blinding them with their juice. The ones on Diana's side attacked her only to be welcomed by the Amazon's fury and the flat of her sword. Meanwhile, Clark's attackers had their vision restored and were ready to jump at their prey.

"Kal, here!" She said, slipping the sword in his hand and taking her lasso out of her girdle. She wanted to hurt the animals the minimum possible, so she tried to tie them together with her lasso. Clark was waving Eunice left and right. He managed to wound the left side of the first one's head, but the other two were already jumping at him. Instinctively, he let himself fall down, and the two beast bumped each other's head. This only pissed them off. Seeing Clark on the ground, the two approached him slowly, watching his every move to avoid being surprised again. When they were confident enough to jump on him again, Hestia's lasso bound their necks together and Diana's fist knocked them down.  
As the Amazon was helping him to stand, Clark saw one last beast on a tree, ready to jump over their giant purple friend, distracted as he was by the fight.

"Argos," he shouted, throwing Eunice at the attacker. He missed the shot, but it was enough to scare the animal and make it run away.

"Great Hera, Kal! Would you be more careful now, please?"

He was about to retort something witty when he saw the marks of the beasts' claws in her arm "Di, they scratched you! How is that possible?"

"I don't know. Their claws might be of some material as strong as estranium, so I'm guessing their beaks are too." She touched her arm. "We've been lucky. Next time we should be prepared."

"Roger that" Clark went where one of the fallen beast were as Diana flew to retrieve her sword from the tree canopy where it was stuck. She descended on Argos' neck, and stroking his head she asked "Are you alright, my friend?" The big purple beast let out an affirmative growl, looking at her with those dreamy eyes of his. When the Princess made sure Argos was alright, she moved to where Clark was squatting beside the dead beast.

"I didn't mean to kill it. I was very scared. That's not a feeling I'm very comfortable with. Until now, only Brainiac and Darkseid could make me afraid. Anyway! These creatures are remarkable. Perfect killing machines individually, attacking in pack as a unit, practically unbeatable." He shook his head in amazement.

"Argos called them 'Claws Everywhere'. I think when they are all over you, that's everything you can think of: claws everywhere," said Diana.

"You were right, Di: we got lucky, very much so. I'm sorry I was so careless. I should've never left the Plaser guns in the Javelin, I should've brought one. I just didn't want to make the same mistake I made with Argos. If not for your powers," he began.

"It's got nothing to do with powers, Kal." The Amazon squatted beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not? Should I have mine, I'd just have to spit on them to put the entire pack on the run." There was anger in his tone."You wouldn't have to put your life at risk to protect mine, dammit!."

"That's not true and you know it. We've always risked our lives for each other in the League, Superman. It's what we do. It's what I do for you as you do for me. Always" Her grip on his shoulder grew a little tighter.

"Superman? Ha! Under a red sun there's no Superman. Superman is all about power! I'm lost without mine, Di. You know? I'm blind and deaf. I try not to think about it, but it's eating me from the inside out. When I think we wouldn't be in this situation if I have my abilities. I can't help but blame myself for putting you and Bruce in this mess. It makes me so very angry." He hit the ground with his fist.  
He looked at her blue eyes. The warmth he found there made him lower his sight in embarrassment. On him, her eyes have always had a power far greater than her lasso in extracting the truth out of his soul.

"I always thought that 'Superman' was a lot more than some extraordinary abilities. Or will you define me only by my gifts? We are more than what we can do. Take Bruce as an example: he has no powers, and yet he stands as one of the greatest heroes the world has to offer.  
And, as for our current predicament, that's Maxima's doing, not yours. That crazy woman is the one to blame for all this, don't you dare take all the blame on your shoulders, Kal. I won't let you, you hear me?" She put her arms around him. "We'll figure it out, you and I. We've always helped each other out of more dire situations than this. All will be well, you'll see." They hugged for a while, until he said:

"Okay. Enough moping. We have work to do and a lot of food to find still." he took her hand as they were moving towards Argos "Di, I..."

"I know, Kal, I know," she tenderly cut him off.

They continued their quest.

_"Black Flower I like. She's like the flowers that grow deep in the forest, with their black petals and beautiful smell. Black Flower plays with me and strokes my head, just the way I like. She smells like Spring._  
_Burnt Log I also like. He feeds me Honey Balls. He threw Shiny Thorn to scare Claws Everywhere away from me. He calls me 'Rgs'. Black Flower I like more, she smells like Spring, but Burnt Log is alright too,"_ thought Argos as he was carrying them to the next food source.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sorry it took me a while to update. Thanks for the reviews.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8.** A Hard Day's Night

**Day 3** (cont.)

Planet Fred. 7 p.m.

After the morning quest, they'd returned to their camp with their prize: three different types of fruit, which included the aforementioned 'kipes', two kinds of comestible roots, one tuberous, similar to potatoes, but of the color of beet, and the other bulbous like an onion. They also found some kind of lettuce, with pulpy leafs of jagged edges and blue flowers with three clusters of oily seeds each, much like a three headed sunflower, which Diana called the 'Cerberus' flower. Clark was able to examine the wheat like plant he saw before the 'Claws' incident. Its grain was soft and rich in fiber, it could be eaten in a number of ways, including milling it to make a pink flour. He was sure he'd be able to crop it and make an orchard to grow their own food, putting all his experience as a farmer to a good use.  
Argos was very fond of a brown fruit with a large violet seed. After a close inspection, Diana found it was very similar in fragrance and taste to earth's nutmeg.

"We found us the first spice," she told Clark with blatant joy. "Our food won't have to be insipid."

This was a blessing for both of them, since they were raised in two different traditions of flavor rich meals. The idea of tasteless salads every day was appalling.

"I'll have to do an excursion to find a sea or some salt lake to get us some precious salt," Diana thought out loud.

"And, when you make that wine of yours, let's see if we can turn some of it into vinegar. For the salad, you know." he added.

"Good idea. Can we get oil out of the 'Cerberus' flowers?" she asked.

"We most certainly will. I'll have to make a press to expressing oil from the seeds. Probably a mortar will do for starters. No problem," he assured.

"Gaea! Look at us. Thinking with our stomachs," the Amazon said laughing, amazed.

"Yeah. Well, hmm...I don't know for how long we'll have to stay here, Di, but one thing I'm sure of is that I want us to live, not only survive," Clark looked at her with confident determination.

Diana smiled at him. She was relieved to see him back to his strong self, at least for a while. An idea was forming in her warrior's head to get him out of his sense of lost. It would have to wait until the completion of the 'Fortress', though. "Well put, Kal," she said.

As they were making their way back to the camp, they crossed a herd of winged creatures, much like gryphons, with colors that varied from pale blue to deep indigo, that were eating the orange leafs from a group of trees fifty yards from where they were. Their size was that of polo ponies, not as big as race horses. They took flight when they heard the couple and their heavy friend passing by.

"They're beautiful," Said Diana. "They look like our winged horses, back in Themyscira. Oh great Pegasus, father of all winged steeds, might I see you again, my friend!" The Amazon wished.

"Even if it takes my last breath, Di, this I promise you: we will be back on Earth and our former lives, and you'll see your loved ones again." To which she took his hand and squeezed it warmly.

His loved ones, thought Clark, were no longer there. Pa and Ma Kent passed away some time ago. Lana moved on and got married with his youth best friend Pete Ross, and Lois and him were not on the best of terms. Jimmy was making a career as fashion photographer and his address was no longer Metropolis but all over the world. There was always Bruce, but he was too busy caring for that awful city of his, besides, he had the warmth of a winter day in Antarctica.

And, of course, there was Diana...

Yes, Diana was the only being he could completely relate to. She was more than his friend. If there was such a thing as a soul mate, he felt she was that to him. There was no need for words between them. They could understand each other the way nobody else could. Being with her felt like being at home, and..._"Dammit, Kent! Are you really falling for this girl?"_ As they were riding Argos, he saw her two feet in front of him. That green linen tunic fitting her body magnificently..._"Stop!"_ he slapped his face's right side, the still healing burnt side, causing himself a good deal of pain. "Damn," he let out.

Diana turned to face him. "Kal, are you alright?"

"Yes, sorry. Lost balance for just a second. I'm okay now," he lied. He moved a few inches back, though.

By the time they arrived at the camp, he'd decided to exhaust himself working to avoid having any other thoughts on the matter, and if he did, his body would be too numb to notice.

As they were preparing their lunch, Argos went back to the pond. During their meal they discussed the initiation of the works for the fortress to be built. Soon they'd distributed the tasks for the day: Diana would get the wood from a group of tall trees resembling eucalyptus as Clark made the holes to bury the columns, according to the layout, they'd have to be eight. Below the small table at the barracks room, an access hatch, measuring 80 x 70 cm, connected the room with engineering. There they found a vast number of tools. He assembled a modular shovel and got along with the task. This brought him back to the time before he gained complete use of his abilities, when Pa Kent was teaching him how to build a barb wired fence, starting with the holes for the posts. He couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Thanks, Pa," he mused.

Meanwhile, Diana, with the help of her xyphos sword Eunice, was chopping some trees. Thanks to its magic blade and her super strength, it took only one clean stroke to sever the 120 foot tall trees from their base roots.

"Timbeeer," she shouted every time one of them was falling. It was an overzealous precaution, but she didn't want to risk having Clark nearby unaware. She took down nine, which she put carefully ordered one beside the other and began to clean the trunk from branches and leafs. By the time she had them ready, Clark had already finished his sixth hole. After all, even without his powers he could do the task of five men. Still, the effort was exhausting.

The columns would be buried 3 and a half feet and 10 ft. above the ground. Diana started to cut the eight columns down to size as Clark finished the other two holes. When they both finished their respective occupations, they began with the placing of the columns. Diana inserted the posts into the holes as Clark filled them with dirt and stones, tamping them down with a rammer he made with a big stone and a pole from the wings structure, to secure them. When the eighth was finally erected, they looked at each other and made a Hi-five, laughing.

"That was a well done job, mister," the Princess congratulated him.

"It helps having a beautiful Amazon doing the heavy lifting, my Lady," he retorted, taking a bow. "I could kill for a beer right now, you know?"

"In that case, wait here. I have a little surprise." she said, desappearing inside the Javelin. After a moment she came back holding a six pack, minus one, with a sign saying 'Property of Guy Gardner, touch it and die.' "It was behind the guitar. I wanted to surprise you."

"And you did! You don't know how much I love you this very moment...eer...best friend!" _'Oh, my gosh!'_ "This is something I won't be able to repay you for. Here...let me take it to the pond to cool them down"

When he came back, and to change the subject, he said, "Isn't it amazing the things people forget when they are traveling? I wonder what have I left behind in other Javelins."

"With your eidetic memory and anal retentive personality? I don't think so," she snorted.

"Excuse me? I'm not anal. I'm thorough," he defended himself.

"Yes. Suuurely," she teased.

"You know? I'm not liking you a lot right now. In fact, I'm not liking you at all, Princess. If not for the beers, we would be having an argument," he said.

"Typical male!" she wasn't going to let the 'Princess' insult go unpunished "A few drinks and he's willing to forget and forgive!" she retorted.

"So what? The Amazon way is better? Carrying a grudge for three thousand years? Is that better?" he was regretting his words as they were coming out of his mouth.

Her eyes grew big as saucers "You bastard! How dare you!? You won't mock the suffering of my people!" she stood up ready to leave.

"Di! I didn't mean it! I was just trying to win the stupid argument! I wasn't thinking! I'm sor..." he tried to apologize.

"Not sorry enough. But you will be, rest assure!" she turn her back on him, getting into the Javelin.

Not sure how this all happened, he went back to the pond an retrieve the beer cans. Opening one he said "Cheers, you Jack-ass!"

Since he already was at the pond, he took a bath to cool his head off. All in all, this was for the better, he thought, so he won't get too smoochy with Diana. He would've prefer to keep it under more friendly terms, though.  
What got him worried sick was imagining what her thoughts of him would be in that moment.

At the Javelin, Diana was trying to temper down her sulk. "That wasn't so serious. After all, you called him anal retentive first," she said to herself. "Did you or did you not have the same argument with your mother when she tried to prevent you to go to the outside world, telling her you had enough of their millennia old hatred of men? It was hearing it from Kal's lips that got you so mad, wasn't it? Yes, I never thought of Kal thinking that way." Why wouldn't he? The Amazons willing seclusion was a testament in itself. "And you know that ignoring the problem is not the way to make it go away." Then, her womanly part took over. "Besides, you have a million ways to make him pay for this." She smiled at the thought. She had a swimsuit somewhere. She started to look for it frantically till she found it: two white band-aid sized pieces that covered only the strictly necessary to keep it PG-13. it was a Colombian brand called "Besame," a present from Dinah. She put it on, grabbed her razor and shaving oil, a towel and went to the pond, where she knew he'd be. It was still one and a half hours until sundown. Diana sat at the rocks surrounding the water fall, some thirty five yards from where Clark was, and began spreading the fragrant oil over her long legs leisurely.

Clark gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes. There she was, carelessly grooming her incredible legs as the falling suns' light cast reflections on her bouncing in the water from the cascade. It was a vision from Paradise.

_"So much for cooling my head,"_ he thought. Clark knew he had to get out of there before the water around him started to boil, but he wasn't able to take his eyes out of her. When he felt something becoming active 'downtown', it was his cue to get the hell out of there. He got out the water bended at the waist, grab his clothes and went behind a tree to dress himself. After knocking his head on purpose against the tree to come out of his stupor, he made his way clumsily towards the camp. Diana watched the scene with a mischievous smile "That will serve him well," the Amazon mused.

After shaving her body, she took a bath as well. An hour later, as she was putting back the swimsuit on to return to the camp, Diana looked at herself in disbelief "Great Gaea! It's too small! Did I really show myself before Kal in this?" Once her irritation was over, the Princess realized how revealing the tiny suit was. She wrapped herself in the towel and walked hesitantly to their accommodations. The kryptonian saw her approaching with a tinge of disappointment. Somehow, he was hoping to see her in the swimsuit again.

"Di...I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean what I've said. It was just a stupid way to have the upper hand in the discussion. I have nothing but respect for your sisters, and you know I'll never, ever would offend you in anyway. Please, forgive me."

The Amazon was a little embarrassed still. She was trying not to look at him in the eyes "It's alright, Kal. I might have overreacted a bit. What you've said is what many people think about mine..."

"But I don't...," he began. Diana stopped him raising a hand.

"...including myself. I used it as a reason to come to the Patriarch's world five years ago. There's nothing to forgive. In any case, I should apologize to you for my reaction..." This time he cut her midsentence.

"Nonsense. Let's put an end to the subject, shall we? I have everything ready for dinner. Guess what? Yeah, salad without any condiments and fruits. Again! Yummy," he joked.

"Yaaay...At least, the fruits are delicious. I'll be right back." Inside the barracks room Diana decided that she had displayed enough skin for the day, so she opted for jeans and a big, loose T-shirt with the legend 'DO NOT Visit Themyscira'. It was a joke Hal Jordan had made for her.  
"I'm here!" she said, helping Clark to take the food to the blanket they used as tablecloth. As usual, the topic of the conversation were the activities of the next day.

"Tomorrow we're starting with the roof structure," he began.

With half a mouthful she answered, "There are enough estranium pannels to cover 45 square yards, but the total area of the 'Fortress' is 60." She paused to swallow "Should we take a few more panels from the Javelin?"

"I believe that if we take those covering the main engines and the landing thrusters, it would not leave us unprotected," Clark replied. "An idea for later: we can use some of the pieces and metal from the engines to make more tools and utensils we may need."

"We'll have to find a way to forge them. I have some experience as blacksmith." The Amazon surprised him.

"You're kidding! How?" He couldn't believe his ears.

"As part of my education, my mother insisted I must have knowledge of every task my sisters performed, so, I had to spend three months working as apprentice in each of the most varied occupations along with my training as a warrior and my studies. It was very exhausting but very interesting times," Diana stated proudly.

"I swear you'll never cease to amaze me, Di. The title 'Wonder Woman' barely does you justice." Clark looked at her with admiration.

And so they went on with the task distribution for the next day, until they finished eating.

When they were picking up the remains of the dinner, Diana said, "I believe you owe me a guitar concert, Mr. Rock Star."

As he was going inside the Javelin to get the guitar, the kryptonian said "Well, 'concert' is too big a word. Let's call it a pop session."

When he came down, Diana had already prepared a small fire for them to sit around and two beers. "For a little ambience, so you feel more at home."

"It's perfect, Di. What do you want to hear," Clark asked. "I'm open to requests from the audience."

"Hmmm. This is an '80s classic: do you know Mike Oldfield's 'Moonlight Shadow,'" the Princess asked. " I find it to be lovely."

"I know it alright. Did you kow it was a loose reference to John Lennon's murder," Clark informed her.

"I didn't. So sad. I could really use a man like him to spread peace all over Patriarch's World. In fact, he would've taught me a thing or two. Such a terrible loss," she sincerely pointed out.

"Indeed it was. IS, because the world still needs people like him." After a pause, he said, "I forgot to tell you I'm a lousy lead singer. Second voices I do, but the singing is all yours," he warned.

"That's not fair! I came here as audience, not as part of the show! Boo! I want my money back!" Then she added with a hint of embarrassment, "Okay, I'll give it a try."

After the introduction she began singing with a beautiful, crystalline voice. Clark's face lit up and he smiled at her as he did the second voice on the 'Far away on the other side' verse. By the time he was playing the guitar solo, Diana clapped along with the rythm. When they reached the end, both were laughing and applauding themselves.

"Di, you sing like an angel! Why did you never do it at our reunions and parties? It's beautiful!" He seemed really touched.

"You think? I was never very confident about my voice. Glad you liked it," said the Amazon lowering her eyes.

"Like it? Screw the League! Let's gather a band and tour the world! 'Diana and the Wonders'" They both laughed at that.

Every muscle in Clark's body ached. The day had been exhausting and Diana and he worked their butts off. Luckily for the Amazon, her powers kept her fresh as a fragrant rose, though she admitted she could use a well deserved rest. Unfortunately, not the same for Clark. If he could die right now, it would be a welcomed turn. Still, their singing went on for two more hours. A warm sense of relaxed joy and happiness invaded them. Yes, sharing a laugh or two with each other was better than a 10 hours sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**. Takin' Care Of Business

**Day 5**

Planet Almerac - City of Potentoris - Hour of Deximus

Peace Negotiations were programmed to start on this day. In two hours the opening ceremony would take place.  
The five members of the Justice League present on Almerac knew nothing more than they did four days ago about the whereabouts of their Trinity team.  
All they had were suspicions about Maxima's involvement, though they couldn't figure how. They certainly could come up with a lot of reasons why, the main of which was that Almerac's ruler was crazy and obsessed with Superman. Still, this was too far fetched even for her.

"Guys, should we consider their deaths as an option," asked Shayera with a timid voice.

"No," Adam replied.

"No way," Green Lantern said, agreeing with Adam.

"Don't even say that," Zee said.

"Not them. Not yet. It's still too early and we haven't found any debris or indications that the Javelin was destroyed," said the Martian, trying to apply logic and a cool head.

"Amongst palace personnel rumor spread that they might have been attacked by pirates. They say that route is well known for that," Strange pointed.

"This is Superman and Wonder Woman we're talking about, and our best strategist, the always cheerful Batman. One dose of the infamous Bat-glare is enough to send them home calling their mommies with their pants wet and nightmares for a month." There was a hint of sarcasm in Zee's voice.

"Don't joke in times like these, Zee," Hawkgirl stopped her.

"Sorry, Shay. I always do that when I'm nervous."The sorceress lowered her eyes.

"I've said that the whole 'let's help Maxima' thing was a bad idea from the very beginning, haven't I," pointed John Stewart.

"You have" answered Zatanna. "As you have repeatedly pointed out. How about a useful contribution, for a change?"

"Please, stop your diatribes against each other! I've had enough of both of you during our journey here," the Martian chided them, pinching his nose between his eyes.

"I can't find my guitar anywhere. Had to do something to pass the time it took us to get here." Stewart shrugged, defending himself.

"We've run out of time and excuses to stay here investigating the disappearance of our team mates." '

J'onn ignored him. "Still, we have only one clue, and it is here, on Almerac, we need more time so we can follow it."

"Any luck trying to scan their minds," asked Shayera.

"Maxima's mind is very strong, and her psionic abilities shielded her from my attempts to read her mind. The rest of the court members know nothing. The only thing I could find out is that one of their scout ships was also lost around the same time our Javelin disappeared." J'onn had a frown obscuring his usually serene features.

"That's not very reassuring," said Green Lantern "Do you think both disappearances are connected?"

"If J'onn doesn't, I do," Adam Strange added with a sardonic tone "It seems some of Maxima's key personnel have been relocated in the past three days. Hastily."

"To prevent them from being scanned by J'onn, no doubt," added Zee. "We must confront that bitch!"

"So she can deny it and risk a diplomatic incident with the Peace Negotiations this close," said J'onn, shaking his head.

"The moods are pretty volatile between the two delegations as it is, it would be like adding a flame to a gas leak," informed Shayera with a worried tone. "Our best bet is to play it smoothly"

"How about this," Lantern suddenly said. "We are the replacements of our missing comrades, right? So, we take over their duties regarding the peace talks: J'onn fills in Diana's diplomatic position, Zee as security advisor, instead of Batman, and I, as representative of the Guardians of the Universe, assure the good will and fairness of the negotiations." Looking down at Zatanna, he added, "Is that useful enough for you?"

"That could work. We can continue our digging while keeping a close eye on the whole process and, especially, our venerable Queen." J'onn's face started to relax.

"Me? Security? Hmm...Alright." Zatanna shrugged. "I can cast a spell over their weapons to prevent both sides from using them against each other. I saw it in an episode of Star Trek." She held up her right hand, making a 'V' between her middle and fourth fingers. In spite of her doubts, she was determined to keep the Peace Conference peaceful. "Hey!, why can't I be in charge of diplomacy?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" John looked to all the present members "Anybody?"

"Enough you two," Shayera scolded both of them. "Give poor J'onn a break. I have to go back to the Thanagarian delegation. John, behave like an adult. Zee...just don't pay attention to what John has to say."

"I have to meet Rann's representatives before the talks begin," said Strange, heading to the door.

"We three must go to see the Queen to inform her about our new roles," and looking to the ceiling J'onn added. "May H'ronmeer have mercy upon us all"

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Potentoris - Royal Palace - The Queen's Chambers

"A telepath," Maxima spat with disgust. "Of all the League members they had to send that damn green telepath! Fortunately, they couldn't find anything and will be going back to that excuse of a planet they inhabit! Still, I had to get rid of Suupra and all the rest. Their weak minds were an open book for the Martian vermin to read. I need my most important advisor to deal with the upcoming conferences!" The Queen was talking to herself, completely oblivious of Lord Brega, who was trying to soothe her.

"Please, Exalted One, the negotiations are about to start, and you need to meet the main delegates of both governments before the opening ceremony."

"We are not pleased, Brega! Not at all!" Maxima gave him a menacing look. "And when we are not pleased, bad things start to happen to the people around us! Mead Page!"

"Exalted One, I beg thee! No more mead until after the ceremony! We are sitting on a time bomb as it is," Brega wiped his forehead.

"Are you questioning the Queen's ability to hold her liquor? Be very careful with your choice of words!" After releasing a heavy sigh, she said, "Perhaps you are right." Refusing the glass of mead, she continued, "The present negotiations need a fresh and calm head." The stateswoman was taking over the spoiled brat. Brega, as most of the court personnel, never ceased to amaze watching this transformation. "I'm sorry, my friend. I'm having a difficult time, I have to deal with a few bad decisions I've made, none of which concerns you or the Peace conference." Straightening her back and head held high she said, "Please, tell the delegates we will be meeting them at once"

"Of course, Exalted One." _'Did she just called me FRIEND? Sorry? Please? Did she say 'please'!?'_ Brega asked himself in disbelief. As he was on his way out, the Schedule Keeper was coming into the Royal chambers making a reverence.

"Excuse me, Exalted One. There are people from the Justice League here to see you. I told them you have no time for them, but they insisted..."

"It's alright. They want to say good bye, it's protocol. Let them in," Maxima was almost smiling at the thought that she wouldn't have to see them again.

Entering the chambers Zatanna, taking a bow like the rest of her team mates, said

"Greetings, Exalted One."

"Greetings Leaguers. It is Our understanding that you are here to bid Us farewell," Maxima confidently pointed.

"Eeeer...not exactly, Exalted One," intervened J'onn. "We're here to inform you that we are taking charge of our missing colleagues' duties, and we will assist you with the Peace Negotiations in the same capacity they were."

"What the...what do you mean by that!?" The Queen's confident smile turned into a shocked mug. "I thought you were here to investigate the disappearance of the members of the Trinity team, nothing more."

"It's the policy of the Justice League never to leave a mission unfinished." This time Green Lantern spoke "And, as mind boggling and painful as our comrades loss is to all of us, there's a job here to finish. We know it's not the same personnel you've requested, the Trinity team is as special to us as it is to you, but we, the Triad team, are as prepared to face our responsibilities as they were. On the plus side, you'll have the support and advice of the League AND the Guardians of the Universe, of which I am a representative, Exalted One."

The mention of the Guardians left Maxima no choice but to abide with the decision and agree with the replacement, in order to put any suspicions to rest.

"We see. We hope you are aware of your duties. With the Talks already upon us, Our personnel has no time to put you up to speed. These negotiations are essential to achieve a long lasting peace in our sector and We won't tolerate any interference from your part," the Queen warned them.

"Rest assured, Exalted One, our presence will only be noticed when needed or when you require our assistance. In the past four days we've became familiar with the situation," J'onn explained.

"And we still have our people in both sides of the delegations to stay ahead of any inconvenience, should it arise," Zatanna added.

"Good. We are very lucky to have the League's assistance even in such dire circumstances. You better be leaving to attend to your tasks. We have to meet with the delegations," The monarch dismissed them.

"Of course, Exalted One. With your permission." With another bow they retired.

It was time for Maxima to explode...

Strangely, she was very calm about the news. She gestured her chamber aids to bring her cape. One last look at her gorgeous reflection in the mirror, and, satisfied with what she saw, she headed out to her meeting. "It's not important. A minor set back. Actually, the help of the League will prove useful during the Peace process. Almerac needs peace between these two powerful allies, or sooner than later they will drag the entire sector into their conflict. My planet won't be involved in a war we didn't start. That's unthinkable. I must focus on the negotiations. Suupra is still looking for our missing vessel, which, in time, will lead us to find where the explosion of Kal-El's ship took place. If we can't find them, the Justice League has no chance to do it. They do not possess all the intel we have."

As she was approaching the delegates and their entourage, Brega whispered to her ear, "Rann's ambassador's name is Voraten and his Thanagarian counterpart is Setel-Kur."

Maxima was a vision in white with a flaming cascade of red hair on top. A broad smile appeared on her full lips as she greeted both dignitaries

"My Lord Kur, my Lord Voraten. Is so good have you both here..." The protocolar pleasantries continued for a while.

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Outside the Royal Palace

The three Justice League members couldn't believe how easy that was. They were expecting endless arguments over the replacement and, most of all, their permanence on Almerac.

"That was suspiciously uneventful." Zatanna voiced her two companions thoughts, as well as hers.

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but yes. I'm more worried about this than any display of temper from her part," said Lantern.

"One step at the time," J'onn told them. "We've gained more time to snoop around. For now, let's carry on with the opening ceremony. I'll inform Shayera and Adam of the news and we'll reunite in the Javelin, which seems to be the safest place, after the reception." Turning to Zee, he asked, "Zatanna, how are you doing with the security arrangements?"

"Uuuh...the spell over their weapons is in place, so no harm will come from there. Another is at work on every insect and small creature so they alert me of any 'disturbance in the Force', so to speak," Zee explained.

"The For...? You've got to be kidding me, Jedi Mistress," snorted John.

"I'm amazed the Guardians didn't tell you about the intimate bond every living creature has with each other. Call it what you may, but we, homo magi, are very aware of it. Any violent feeling, including love, hate, fear, desire, etcetera, can trigger a manifestation and, if you know where to look, you can pinpoint it and prevent the possible consequences if they are potentially prejudicial, as in this case," informed Zee.

"And why didn't it work on Maxima, may I ask," replied John.

"Maxima is a constant turmoil of violent emotions, which changes endlessly, like a crazy compass turning around all the time, franticly, never pointing north but only for an instant. Very hard to read, you know, wise guy?" She turned her back to him.

"Hmmm," Lantern grunted.

They were approaching the 'Ancestral Hall', an enormous, magnificent building, shaped as an onion's half, ivory and gold in color, in which the Opening Ceremony and the Peace Negotiations would take place.  
A navy blue carpet leaded to the entrance, flanked by a dozen guards, in their dress uniforms of black and silver, with particle guns pointing up as a warning.

In the distance, they could see a floating platform, carrying the Queen and the head delegates of both sides. Protocol demanded that they enter last, after everyone was already in place, so they were approaching really slowly.

"Giving a perfect target for an enemy to aim at." The idea came to Green Lanterns head just before they saw a projectile coming towards the platform at great speed. "Heads up," he shouted as he and J'onn took to the air in its direction.

"Oh, my God! Oh my God," mused the young sorceress. Pointing her forefinger to the missile she said, "OG PU!" and the device raised its nose upwards, detouring from the collision course with the dignitaries.

Lantern encased it in a bubble of green energy right when the artifact detonated, but J'onn and Maxima had already pushed the platform to safety.

As they were landing the platform carefully on the blue carpet, John shouted to Zatanna, "What the fruck happened with the 'disturbances in the force', Princess Leia?!"

"I don't know, dammit! I-don't-know!" The confusion in her face was evident.


	10. Chapter 10

There's been a development, folks: my former beta **iDefyGravity** is indisposed and can't continue editing this story. My undying gratitude to her.

The magnificent** Hellacre** has taken over instead (ovation!), so, if she is late delivering her own stories to us, now you know whom to blame.** Thank you, H.**

_Thank you for all your reviews._

They've been neglected but much appreciated.

**Chapter 10** - Foreign Affairs

**Day 5** (cont.)

Planet Almerac - City of Potentoris - Outside Ancestral Hall

"What do you mean you don't know? What about all those creatures ready to signal you if something fishy was happening?" asked Lantern.

"That's exactly what I mean! I've received no signal, no warning...nothing!" Zee was puzzled. "It's impossible! I'm still connected with all of them; they know nothing about this."

J'onn J'onnz was with the Queen, checking the state of the delegates. Apart from looking nervous and evidently shaken, no harm was done to them. Thanagarian ambassador Kur took a rather belligerent stand and it wasn't easy to calm him down.

Maxima took the green Leaguer aside and started to objurgate him.

"This is unacceptable! I thought you would have an eye on the security of the Negotiations! The delegates might have been killed! Even I had to take action, given your inoperativeness!

"I assure you we've been thorough with our security measures, Exalted One. Unless this is an internal job..."

"Absurd! All our staff's loyalty has been tested countless times, and they know that explosion wouldn't have been enough to kill me! Every member of the court and the Parliament is very much aware of the importance these peace talks mean to our world! No one would do anything to jeopardize them!" interrupted Maxima.

"Let's assume it's not an internal job. The Justice League had every possible menace on the surface of this planet covered..." The Martian Manhunter came to a realization."Queen Maxima, may I have your permission to go over the records of Almerac's planetary defenses? There's a chance this is an external attack."

"Impossible! Our planetary defenses are impervious to any kind of assault from the outside!" There was inescapable pride in her words.

"Still. We can't rule out any possibility if we want to get to the bottom of this. I can guarantee our discretion and we'll respect every area considered off limits," J'onn reassured her.

"Very well then. WE take you word for it," the Monarch reluctantly said. Raising a menacing finger before J'onn's face, she added "DO NOT disappoint us again."

"We won't, Exalted One. Thank you." And then the Martian hero asked, "What about the Opening Ceremony? Is it still on?"

"We don't see why not. Nobody was harmed and the danger was averted for the time being. There's no reason to change our plans. Besides, if we do not continue with the Negotiations, we would give whoever tried to sabotage them the victory. Not going to happen. Not on my watch." With these words the Queen moved to join the ambassadors.

When Zatanna saw the Martian approaching she appeared flustered. All she could articulate was, "J'onn, I...I can't explain. I thought I had it..."

Holding his hand up, J'onn tried to calm her agitation. "Stop, Zatanna. Apparently these are unforeseen circumstances. I suspect this attack came from outside Almerac and a new player is responsible for it." He told them about his conversation with the Queen. "After the ceremony we will go over the surveillance videos of the planetary defenses of the time when the missile was first sighted. Unless I'm pretty much mistaken, our answer will be there."

"Are they going on with this? After what happened?" an incredulous Lantern asked.

"Yes. And I agree with Maxima: to withdraw now would mean admitting defeat," stated the Manhunter. "These meetings are much more important than a terrorist attack. Let's go take our places"

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City of Potentoris - Inside Ancestral Hall

Hawkgirl was near, but not close of to the Thanagarian retinue. Her presence was still unwelcomed. They only allowed her there because of her status as a member of the Justice League and liaison appointed by Maxima herself. Their displeasure was evident. Katar took upon himself the task of protecting her from his companions' attacks. Fortunately, his reputation of being a person who 'used to take care of stray dogs' deflected any suspicions.

They've been secretly seeing each other in the past days. Stripped from his misguided patriotism, he turned out to be a delightful companion, not only a magnificent and passionate lover. During their 'pillow talks' he confessed not being a hundred per cent in accordance with his government's exterior politics and the constant state of war. He hasn't been on Thanagar for five years now. His sister's baby was now a little girl who always flies flew around getting into trouble. He'd lost that part of her life and he missed his parents and their family home.

He appeared to be a strong man, tough as nails, so this tender side of him was a pleasant surprise for Shayera. Yes, as afraid as she was, Hawkgirl was starting to fall for him. The actual real Katar; not the image from the past, which was becoming clearer over time.

Shayera didn't want to use official channels for personal benefit, but she requested the Watchtower to send her all the information available about King Khufu.

Apart from Khnum-Khufu, the Pharaoh, builder of the Great Pyramid, there was another monarch under the same name. Ancient even by Egyptian Empire standards, builder of several of the smaller pyramids. It was recently discovered an undated stele, made of a stone variety not indigenous to that part of Egypt, or Africa, for that matter, referring to the 'Winged Rulers', gods who descended to Earth in a golden chariot, during a storm of thunder and lightning. The ruling tyrant, scared before the presence of real gods, resigned his position in their favor, becoming their main advisor. Their reign had lasted about a decade bringing prosperity and progress to the region. Apparently, they were loved by their people. The stele reports they both died simultaneously, not explaining how or why. The former king was reinstated in their place.

The image of them showed two winged beings with hawk heads, even though they predated the god Horus' first mention for a few centuries. The archeologist who found it speculated the wings were very clever props, because the stele didn't mention if they could fly or not, and the hawk heads, a type of helmet.

The authenticity of the discovery was not yet confirmed, and so, the news of the findings was kept a secret only shared by the experts. Hawkgirl had a strong feeling the story told by the stele was historically accurate, though she could not imagine how or why the both of them had those memories. It was as if they were those two rulers from so long ago.

However, it was the man she had in front of her that made her emotional defenses crumble. This made her think about the end of the peace process, when each one will have to return to their worlds and obligations. What then? An ice claw oppressed her heart just by thinking of it.

Katar noticed the change in her expression and, cupping her cheek, asked, What is it, Magpie? A dark veil has suddenly covered your lovely face."

She put her hand over his, saying, "It's nothing. I want these moments to last forever, but I know we both should part ways rather soon. It saddens me deeply."

"Yes. I know exactly how you feel. I wish you could come to Thanagar with me. As you would want me to go to Earth with you, I know that too." Katar's expression also changed.

They knew their duty. They knew what was expected of them.

By the Gods! Only Shayera knew what it took to get the League to trust her again! And, sadly for her, not completely. She would always be on probation. In her home world she would always be a traitor. Best case scenario, they would grant her a quick execution.

As for Katar moving to Earth, it would be another disaster in the making. Earthlings would only see an invader, one of the aliens who almost destroyed the planet.

As she was had witnessed of the Opening Ceremony inside the Ancestral Hall, the ugly truth sank into her soul: they were destined to live apart.

Why was she so devastated by this realization? She only knew him for a few days; it wasn't even enough time for a serious romantic adventure, yet it seemed she had been with him her whole life. And there were those memories of another time when they were together as husband and wife. What kind of sick joke was fate playing on them?

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Slapping repeatedly with one hand on the thigh was the local equivalent to and applause. Maxima had just declared the Negotiations open after a long series of speeches and demonstrations.

After the ovation, the attendees began to file out and head where the reception party was going to take place.

"I think it's time for us to go check the planetary defenses records," suggested Lantern.

"Right. Let's go," replied J'onn

"Uuh, guys? I think I better stay. You can manage perfectly by yourselves, and I'm picking up strong hostile vibes from some of the guests. From both sides. If booze makes them gain courage, I wanna be here to prevent them to get violent," Zee said.

"Good thought. We'll be in permanent communication," said the Martian Manhunter as he and John left the building.

After seeing them leave, Zatanna went to where Shayera was standing alone.

"H-Girl, hi."

"Hey, Zee. Any news?" asked Shayera.

"Apart from the leaders almost being blown out of the sky? Nah, nothing much," replied Zee. "How's the party?"

"Wild, as you can see." Shayera sarcastically extended her arm showing the diplomats and dignitaries chatting quietly while elegantly sipping their glasses. "These are not exactly 'Party-Hardy' folks," she added.

"Let's keep it that way. We don't want a bar fight on our hands. Believe me." and, Looking to her right, she mused, "Now that's a trouble I want to get into! Tall, winged and handsome approaching at two o'clock!"

Hawkgirl's face turned pink at the sight of Katar in his dress uniform.

"Good evening, Ladies. Hawkgirl, a word, please. Alone." He purposely gave the phrase a dry intonation.

"I got this," Shayera said firmly to Zee.

"Sure you do." The sorceress took a thorough look at the Thanagarian commander. "I'll get me one of those... green and bubbly beverages. You guys want something?"

"We're good," Shayera answered.

"Of course you are. Excuse me." Zatanna left the two alone.

When they were certain no one could hear them, Shayera hissed at him "Are you crazy? Someone can see us!"

"I know. I've just had an epiphany!" He sounded very enthusiastic "There's a way for us to be together."

"Really? What about our issues with the people in our respective worlds?" Hawkgirl asked skeptically.

"Why should we stay in any of those worlds? They are not friendly to us, Magpie. We can make our lives anywhere we want. I've given the military eight years of my life. Not that I'm complaining, the work we made was for the good of Thanagar...hmm...mostly, but it's time to settle down, to have a real life. I want to do that with you. And I know the perfect planet for us to start from scratch." Katar looked straight into her eyes.

"Aaw, Peacock! You are so sweet!" She almost raised her hand to touch his face, but then she remembered where they were. "But we have responsibilities. I do care for the people on Earth and the Justice League has become my family. I can't leave just like that."

"Yet, the people you care about treat you like an outsider. Further more, one that almost let us destroy their world. They don't and probably never will trust you, Justice League or not. Even if you no longer wear you Thanagarian uniform," he stated.

Deep inside, that was Shayera's greatest fear. No matter how big her heroics were, how many people she saved, her one mistake will always hung over her head like Damocles' sword. Even some of the Leaguers looked at her with apprehension.

_'Some family',_ she thought. She said, instead, "I tell you what. What I'm starting to feel for you is very strong, and, on the spur of the moment, I might say yes to your proposition, but we've known each other for only a few days! Let's enjoy what time we have left until the end of the peace talks. This is an idea I saw in a video recording, back on Earth. The story is called 'An Affair to Remember'. Two lovers need to part ways to solve their situations, so they made a pact to reunite again after certain amount of time in a very well known public place. If they still feel the same for one another, they'll remain together for life. If not...well, you know." She purposely left out the part where the woman never made it to the date. "I say let's give our love a chance to prove itself. If it's strong enough after enduring separation, it means we are meant to be, and we'll go wherever you decide."

"I hate the idea," Katar replied "But it sounds fair. Where and when?"

"Let me get back to you on that. Later tonight." Shayera put a suggestive tone to her words.

The corner of his mouth rose. "Very well. Slap my face."

"Wha...?"

"They are watching us. Hit me and leave in anger, as if I said something outrageous," he explained.

"Okay. Sooorry..." His head almost did a 360 turn. He went back to his delegation rubbing his cheek.

Zee met Shayera half way to the bar. "What in heavens was that?" asked the magician.

Hawkgirl snatched her glass and finished in one gulp. "Theatrics. I'll explain later. Sorry about your drink."

"Let's get another and you can tell me about it." Zatanna took Shayera's arm and they both were to the bar.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter** 11 - Moving on up

**Day 6**

Planet Fred - Fortress of Solely Two - 6:00 AM

Clark got out of their room in the Javelin to a gorgeous dawn. Diana was already outside saying her morning prayers.

She'd told him about her encounters with her deities, so he didn't understand her devotion to the rituals praising them. He, nonetheless, respected this. He wasn't a religious man, but he knew about the need of others to have beliefs. In fact, his encounters with the New Gods, some of the old ones, and after seeing the Source Wall and the mystery of what was behind it, had him convinced that there was much than meets the eye in the known and unknown universe.

He quietly looked at the construction site of the 'Fortress' which was almost complete. It looked solid. The wooden walls interstices were sealed with a rubber-like substance from a fat, short tree. Their ingenuity made him proud. His hands developed quite a few blisters as consequence of handling tools and his back ached, but the work was satisfying. Clark's appreciation of Jonathan Kent's daily efforts grew exponentially._ "Pa, you were the true Superman,"_ he thought to himself. He felt pride in carrying the Kent name, and he sure as hell would honor it.

He turned to look at Diana again. He knew she could have finished the Fortress in 1/10th of the time, if not faster, but she chose to let him do things at his own pace. He was grateful for it. Not that he would say anything. It would appear as if he thought she was patronizing him and he didn't want her to have that impression.

He went to the pond to wash himself.  
There he found Argos eating from a tree by the shore. Clark was fascinated with the beast. He was nibbling the leaves with his beak and then chewed them with the molars at the back of his mouth. "A beak and teeth. I d say you are very well equipped, Argos, my friend". After patting his head and saying a few affectionate words to the purple giant, he took off his clothes and started his morning bath.

The water was very cold for him at this hour, but he remembered Diana's words: "A warrior should fear dirtiness more than death itself.

Of course, she said that to herself, not to him, but he d adopted the motto. It went well with what Ma used to say to him as a kid: "Clark, a clean conscience begins with a clean body."

In spite of his discomfort, he was enjoying the new sensations like heat, cold, weariness, etc. Not even before his powers manifest themselves fully, he was able to experience those like now.

"So. This is how being 'normal' feels." He looked at his crotch and couldn't help but notice how his masculine attributes shrunk. "I say 'normal' is overrated. Come on, Kent! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". His eyes turned their attention to his hands, because he was feeling an itching in the burnt part of them. They were healing pretty well and fast, even though he didn't have his powers. His right hand went to the injuries on his face. The itching sensation was there too. The skin was smoothing noticeably. The gel was working amazingly well. The only problem was the insects surrounding his face and hands, and Argos licking them with a large, thin tongue which almost knocks him down.

During one of his scouting trips into the forest, while Diana was collecting fruits and vegetables, he had found a plant with thick, pulpy leaves. By Diana's insistence he had taken Eunice with him along with a Plaser pistol, to avoid unpleasant encounters, like the one she had with the carnivorous animal-plant the first time she ventured into the woods. They had the location of many of them marked by now. He smiled at the memory:

_He unsheathed the sword and cut the tip of one of the blue leaves. It fell to the ground and a green gel came out of it. The gel had a nice, sweet smell and didn't have any visible corrosive effect. A few insects came to feed from it._

_"Could it be...?" Clark picked some gel with his forefinger tip from the part of the leaf still attached to the plant and took it to his lips_

_"Diana would kill me if she'd see me now. Mmmmm! It's halfway between maple syrup and honey! I like it!"_

_When he showed Diana the samples he took to their settlement, she approved its taste. Then, she stared at his face as if struck by an idea. She spread a fair amount of gel on her left palm and, without warning, smeared it on the right side of his face._

_"Hey, what the...!?" He began protesting, but then "Wow! This is so refreshing! My skin doesn't burn anymore! How did you...?"_

_"On Themyscira we have a similar plant Epione uses for healing burns like yours. She taught me to recognize certain healing herbs when I had to work with her during my apprenticeship," she said proudly._

_"Thank goodness for tha..shoo! Damn bugs! Shoo!" He was interrupted by some insects trying to get to his smeared face "Oh. Man!"_

But the gel was working miracles. According to Diana's calculations, it accelerated his healing by a factor of three. In a week, at the most, he would be back to normal.

"And I will be able to shave again. I hate Diana seeing me like this. I look like a hobo."

He finished bathing and went to their camp. Diana was already chopping fruits for breakfast.

"Good morning, Kal!" she greeted him.

"Hi, Di. It's going to be a beautiful day, isn't it?" he replied."Can I help you?"

"Yes, take this to the table, please." She handled him a bowl with a fruit salad with a generous amount of 'glycos' which was the name Diana chose for the green gel Clark found. Clark was also responsible for the confection of the table. He made it with parts of the trees Diana chopped for the Fortress. "It's great to see our architectural endeavor almost finished," she added.

"Yes. About that, Di, I think I can take care of the final details by myself. I have the main door and the windows almost ready to install and half the gravel for the floor finishing, until we can cut the flat stones near the pond into tiles. It's time to start searching for the orbiting beacon to signal our position to our friends."

"Okay. I'm ready. Let's start the search today," she said with determination.

"Not so fast. Di, I don't need to tell you how worried I m about this. You up there, on your own, orbiting the planet, looking for a needle in a haystack"

She looked at him in shock. "You don't think I can handle myself? Because, let me tell you, it's not my first time in outer space"

"I meant no offense. Of course I trust you, and I know your skills and abilities. It's just..." He looked at his hands.

"What is it, Kal?" she asked.

"I m so damn useless down here! If anything should happen to you up there I won't be able to do nothing to help you!" He looked at her visibly upset.

"I'll be fine. In any case, let's make sure nothing happens then." She put her hand over his. "Quoting Bruce: 'Preparation is the key to success'"

"You're right. We must stay focused. Look, there are two things I want you to wear, just as a safety precaution." Clark knew he needed to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Of course. What things"

"One: my kryptonian uniform. It is virtually indestructible and will keep you safe from radiation and cosmic emanations."

She looked at him in surprise. "Kal, I don't think it would fit me. You are several sizes bigger than me. Besides, I have my own, which is also indestructible."

"Try to be more subtle when you call me fat," he joked "I know you have yours, but it doesn't cover all your body, like mine does. As you saw, my suit retracts entirely into the belt buckle. It's kryptonian nanotechnology. All you have to do is place the buckle at your waist level, it reads your body configuration and deploys the suit to adapt to your form. Perfect fit. I'll show you how to activate it. Don't worry about me leaving any trace of skin, or even sweat or dirt: once it retracts, every foreign particle is disposed of. You save a lot in laundry that way." He smiled

"Fine. What's the other item?" she asked.

"This." He took the watch off his wrist. "It's a Rolex GTM Master. Same model astronauts used for space missions. Babies like this were on the Moon. It s shielded against practically everything: shock, magnetism, high pressure, vacuum, etc. The crystal is synthetic Sapphire. A little, Swiss miracle from the 1970s. You'll be able to keep track of time with it," he stated proudly. "And it's automatic, so, no batteries required."

"This must have cost you a small fortune! I don't know if I'll be comfortable wearing your watch." She sounded concerned.

"Nonsense. You made me take your beloved sword with me. I'll be a lot more at ease knowing you have it. In fact, no, it's not 'MY' watch. It's my gift to you; if it makes you feel better, from now on it's your watch take it!" He took her hands and put the watch in them.

"Wha...Kal, no! I...I can't!" she stammered.

"Di, it's not like anyone gave it to me. I just bought it in an auction. And I really want you to have it, and use it out there." He pointed to the sky.

"But...I...I don't usually wear watches"

"Just have it. A little token of my friendship. Humor me. Please," he said and added with a big grin, "Besides, it's one of the classic 'Bond watches."

She looked at him confused.

"Bond, James Bond?" he said. "British Secret Service? License to kill?" Her face showed no signs of recognition. "Oh my...Daniel Craig?"

"Him, I know. I met him in one of my charity tours. Very charming and funny. People kept calling him double 'O' seven for some reason. He introduced me to the audience on that event," Diana recalled.

"Yeah, I remember I covered that event. He said that you were, and I quote, 'the only woman who can make Angelina look like an old hack, and I knew her when she still was hot'. Smart ass!" A shadow of disapproving jealousy passed over Clark's features.

"A handsome man too. Not god-like beautiful as you, but easy on the eyes." When she realized what she just said, her face turned white then deep red. His was red too. "O-kaay then. And how will you keep track of time to warn me if I'm too distracted?" She changed the subject.

"Erm, yes. Uh, during my journeys, as a reporter or as Superman, I always carry in my valise my faithful travel alarm clock. No batteries either. You just have to wind it up." He made the mimic of turning a key.

"It seems very important for you to know the time of the day, isn't it?" she asked curious.

"The timetable was vital at the farm. It tells you when to feed the animals; when to milk the cows; how long you should irrigate the fields; how long will it take to Ma's apple pie to be ready even how long it takes to secure the animals and get to the storm cellar for an entire family when a tornado strikes. Then, the big city life demanded you to be aware of the time constantly. The habit is stuck in me, you know? And, this time, I'm glad it did."

"I see," she said. "For centuries Themyscira used sun dials, clepsydras and hourglasses and other non mechanical time pieces to measure the pass of time within the day. In the last three centuries we were introduced to the use of clocks by our sister Amazons who regularly travel to the outside world looking for technological innovations worth adopting. I grew spoiled on that regard because, as a Princess I never got to use a clock, someone always kept my schedule for me." There was no shame in her voice, she was just stating the facts. "So, do we begin now?"

"Okay. I'll go get my suit." He went in and out the Javelin. When he returned he had a white and gold pentagon of 3" x 3" x 0.5" and his red cape.

"What's the cape for?" Diana asked

"You are also taking it with you. The suit covers every part of your body except the face. Remember my face could be a lot worse if I didn't put the cape over my head during our entry to the atmosphere," Clark told her.

"I know, Kal, but remember I'm almost as invulnerable as you were. There are few things that can harm me."

"Yes. And it's because of those few things you are taking it. Please," he begged.

"This is not because you have a 'Superwoman' fetish, is it?" she joked.

"Princess Diana! I didn't know you have such a dirty side!" He said, faking indignation "Well...may be a little," he shrugged. They both laughed at this.

"Alright, I'm taking it. And don't call me Princess! Now let's put that darn suit on me, shall we?" she said.

"You'll have to do it by yourself. You have to remove your clothes. You can leave your underwear on. See, it's a little skintight," he said, turning red.

"I knew it: Superwoman fetish," she blurted at him. But she remembered how skin tight it was. Especially on his broad chest and lower back.

"Okay. The buckle has a safe but simple sequence of activation. After you hold the buckle over your belly button, you have to touch here, then here and finally press the center. A strap will extend around your waist and the mechanism will start scanning your body. The buckle starts to glow and you'll see particles deploying from it and the fabric spreading all over your body. This is a little ticklish. The whole process lasts exactly 2.3 seconds. I suggest you tie you hair up in a bun or a pony tail," he instructed.

"Got it. I'll be right back," she replied.

When she was inside the barracks room, she took all of her clothes off and got into the skimpy white swimsuit. After tying her hair in a braid, she placed the buckle over her flat stomach and punched the sequence code. Everything went as Clark told her. She felt awkward using this suit, though she must admit it was like a second skin. To the touch it felt like fabric and it extended under her bracelets, leaving them external. She was expecting it to be blue and red, but it remained white instead, with no 'S' on her chest, only an empty circle.

As she was coming out of the ship, she snapped at him, "I've been cheated! This is not a super suit! Where are the blue and red! Where is your 'S'? This is outrageous! It's the last time I shop in cheap places!"

He turned to face her. The suit accented each and every one of her curves, almost better than her own outfit. She was a white dream. Finally, he could articulate a word and exclaimed, "Whoa! That's not how it works. You need to have Kryptonian DNA and belong to one of the twenty-five founding houses for it to adopt your colors and family crest. Otherwise it remains plain white." He moved towards her. "Allow me." He rotated the buckle an entire 360 degrees and then pulled the turtle neck up until it became a tight hood, like that of a wetsuit, leaving the face and braid uncovered. He did the same to the sleeves until they extend into fingerless mittens. "There! Now you are a white ninja," he joked.

She dismissed the joke "You're saying that in your world of origin your family belonged to some kind of Kryptonian aristocracy?" she asked astounded.

"Yeah, sort of..." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Then why all that nonsense about you being just a farm boy from Kansas? Wait until I tell Bruce you were pestering us about not being in tune with the common man because of our birth into privilege, which you also have. You've got a lot to explain, Your Grace," she said sarcastically. This time she was serious.

"I was raised as a farmer, regardless of the social status of my Kryptonian family! I didn't know about my origin until I was eighteen. And even so, my birth parents were workers, a scientist and a military physician, not some feudal despots," he explained "And I really do work and live with the common man, not in an ancestral mansion or some luxurious 'flat' in the most exclusive part of London."

"FYI, not all aristocrats are despots. And what about your ice palace in the Arctic? Is that close to the common man as well?" she counter attacked.

Things were escalating, and that was not what Clark intended. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I admire your generous heart and your hard work for the underprivileged. And I know Bruce puts his life in jeopardy every day to defend the innocent and donates a fair share of his wealth to help the less fortunate. And the Fortress is a working place, not a palace. But you are right, sometimes I am too quick to judge. Again, I'm sorry, Di." He looked straight into her eyes, which always tended to disarm her defenses.

"It's okay. I was shocked by the revelation of your upper class origin. I acted judgmental as well. Friends?" she asked.

"No matter what." He smiled.

"Back to work, Kal. What else do I need to know?"

"Nothing else. Let me put the cape on you." He adjusted the fasteners.

"It's not vanity, but I'm really curious about how I look right now, let me tell you," Diana said.

"Back in Krypton, these were regular, every day garments, and, as you can imagine, people needed to check their aspect before facing others. It has a little gimmick you may find interesting." He slid his finger on the sides of the buckle and a live 3D projection of Diana's full body appeared some five feet in front of her.

"Wow! This is amazing!" she said, looking at herself from every possible angle. "This looks pretty sleek, powerful."

"You look positively badass!" he said, with a satisfied grin.

"Doesn't it consume too much energy?" the Princess asked.

"As many Kryptonian things, it gets the energy from the sun. No problem there," Clark told her.

Diana took the watch and slid it on her left wrist. "Let's synchronize our time pieces."

"Oops! Let me get my alarm clock from inside." He ran inside the Javelin and then back. "Here! I'm ready."

"So, an hour and a half...," she started

"An hour and fifteen minutes," he corrected her, setting his alarm. "We need to play it safe, Di. No stunts, okay?"

"Okay. Hour fifteen." She tied the Lasso to her waist and gave him the other end, which he secured around his waist too. "Well, up, up and aw...!"

He stopped her. Turned her to face him and "Di, I...I just want to say..." The Lasso was playing its magic on him. Fighting it with all his strength, he cooled down. "Please, be very careful." _And come back to me_, he thought.

"I promise," and she lifted from the ground.

Clark eyes followed her until she was no longer visible. He wasn't able to resist the power of the Lasso anymore. When he was sure not even her sensitive ears could hear him, he fell to his knees and whispered, "I love you."

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Almerac - City of Potentoris - Global Defense Array Control

Hour of Jannell

J'onn and John Stewart had been looking to the security video recordings for hours now, without success. John rubbed his eyes. He felt tired, but they won't quit until they find a clue about the origin of the missile.

"Let's follow back the route of the projectile once more," Lantern said. "There's something we're not seeing."

"No. It's not that," the Martian said. "There's a gap in the recordings. Look at the time-code. It seems to jump at this point."

"My Almerachian is a little rusty. Hold. Ring, translate time readings to Earth measurements," ordered Green Lantern. "Now. Rewind, please."

The ring displayed the time-code equivalent in green numbers before them.

"There! A second and a half gap! It could pass as a camera malfunction, but we know better." J'onn spoke to the officer in charge, "Commander, are there any other visual records of the satellite systems, other than this?"

"Only those monitoring the state of the communications net. But we need clearance to access them," the officer said.

The Leaguers showed him what they suspected could be sabotage. "I see. Wait. Chief, download the video records of the communications monitoring system of grid 349F, from..." He looked back to the time-code. "Hour of Deximus to Hour of Chanys"

"The time of the attack at Ancestral Hall, sir?" the soldier asked.

"Affirmative. Use my authorization code and label it urgent," the Commander ordered.

"Right away, sir!"

"It shouldn't take more than ten chrons," the officer said.

"That's about half an hour," J'onn said. "Use them to get yourself something to eat. I'll call Zee to inform her and see how things are going."

"Okay. You want something?" Stewart asked.

"Just some of that yellow tea. Thanks." As John was leaving, J'onn tapped his communicator.

"Zatanna, come in." After twenty seconds, "Zatanna, this is J'onn, come in, please"

A visibly angry Zee answered, "Dammit, J'onn. This better be important, I was about to make Lothar's loincloth disappear."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I lost track of time. I didn't know you were sleeping. Anything to report?" he apologized.

"After the attack everything went smoothly. I had to keep the Thanagarians separated from the Rannians due to alcohol intoxication, but, other than that, a very boring reception party, thank goodness," the sorceress informed. "What about you, guys? Any luck?"

"After hours of nothing, we seem to have found a lead. I'll keep you posted," J'onn said

"Please, let it be in...," she checked her watch, "two more hours."

"Alright. I won't disturb you again unless it's urgent. You can go back to Lothar, now." The Martian smiled.

"Hmmm. C'mere, you giant, chocolate cake. Yaaawwn! Zee out. For good." She ended the link.

John was returning with two yellow teas and three blue bagels, one of which he was eating. "J'onn, you have to try one of these. They're delicious. I brought one for you."

"Most considerate, thank you. They didn't happen to have Oreos, did they?" asked the Martian.

"This Oreo thing is getting out of hand. You have a problem, man." John's face showed concern. "But I guarantee you are not gonna miss your cookies if you sample this." He offered a bagel to J'onn.

"Okay. Mmmm. Yes, very tasty. This will definitely do. For now, anyway." The Martian chewed with satisfaction.

They ate silently for a few minutes until the Commander called them. "Gentlemen, the recordings are here, ready to be played."

"Thank you, Commander. Ready, J'onn?" Green Lantern asked

"Let's do this."

The angle was entirely different, but it was clearly visible a flash of light appearing right behind a comm-satellite, extending into a tunnel, barely big enough for the missile to emerge from it. The proximity to the satellite, no doubt, was meant to mask the signal of the phenomenon.

"A boom-tube," J'onn stated.

"That small?" asked the Commander.

"A mini boom-tube," corrected Lantern.

"Apokolips!" said Martian Manhunter.

"Darkseid," added John with a grave voice.

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Thank you everyone for the reviews. Sorry for the delayed updating. Next chapter coming soon


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for the reviews **

**Thanks to Hellacre for her editing.**

**Chapter 12 -** Don't wanna miss a thing.

**Day 6** (cont.)

Planet Fred - Exosphere - 8:30 AM

Diana was fascinated by the overwhelming silence. The cold was intense, even with the Kryptonian suit she could feel it. To help herself get in focus, she began reciting mentally all the relevant data she had memorized the days before from the tablet where Clark downloaded all the information that Bruce could record from the Javelin sensors about the planet and the surrounding ring.

_"Ring's minimum distance to the planet: 39,000 Km/24,375 Ml_

_Ring's width: 5,000 Km/3,125 Ml_

_Ring's thickness: From 10 mt/32 ft to 250 mt/1476 ft._

_Debris main composition: _

_ Magnetite. Ferrimagnetic mineral. Fe3O4. Ferrous-ferric oxide: 78%_

_ Copper, Cu: 6%_

_ Lead, Pb: 6%_

_ Carbon, C: 4% _

_ Quartz, SiO2: 3%_

_ Calcium, Ca: 2%_

_ Other: 1%_

_Particle size: From 0.02 mt/6 eights of an inch to 9.5 mt/31 ft._

_(The particles -pieces of debris- are constantly attracting and repelling one another, due to their magnetic properties, moving at different speeds and causing constant collisions.)_

_The ring completes a turn around the planet in 192 days_

_Ring inclination relative to planet equator: 5.2º"_

It took her 5 minutes and 22 seconds to reach the inner ring border at her full speed.

_"Damn, that reduces the time I have to look for the darn contraption."_ She thought, _"I better hurry."_

She lifted from the surface perpendicularly. According to their calculations, she must move 60º to her right for about 98 miles, to where, hypothetically, the beacon should be. Looking at the watch on her wrist she said,"_That should be two o'clock. Thanks, Kal."_

Dodging the chunks of debris coming in her direction, she began a methodical search pattern, zig-zagging from the end nearest to the planet to the furthest, moving in the same direction as the rotation of the ring.

Her hunter eyes didn't miss any interstice of the section she was covering in her route _"Some rocks move very fast, and they collide rather violently. I hope they didn't crush the beacon. This is going to take us a very long time, unless we get lucky somehow."_ She checked her watch. _"I have another 4 minutes"._ The oxygen reserves in her blood stream were running thin and she began to feel it in the form of impeding headache, so she felt the urge of picking up the pace.

_"Stop, Diana. If you try to rush things up, you may miss something. I better return to Kal...I mean, TO THE CAMP, and come back tomorrow." _

She took a mental picture of the last place she swept, to begin the next day in the same position. She knew with the particles in constant displacement it would be tricky, at best, to find the same place, but she was confident she could locate it again, with the help of a little math and physics, of course. She turned to face the planet. Due to her new position, moving west to the planet, she saw the two suns emerging from behind it, in a glorious cosmic sunrise. That put a smile on her face. _"I wish Kal could be here to watch at this wonder with me,"_ she thought. At the same time, she fell his pulling on the Lasso to warn her that her time was up.

_"I was thinking about you too, dearest friend."_ She began her descent. She just has to follow her Lasso, as if it were Ariadne's Thread, to reach her point of origin. As she was moving down, Diana took a look around to appreciate this magnificent view of the cosmos.

_"Space is nothing like a black velvet curtain with luminous pin pricks in it. There are a lot of shades and nuances in the background. Cosmic dust reflecting the light and colors from the stars and galaxies, nebulae shining from the stars getting birth inside them, strings of stars like diamond necklaces. Such a quiet beauty. I'm very fortunate I can be out here witnessing all this glory with naked eyes."_ The Amazon thoughts returned to Clark and how concerned he was for her safety. _"Don't worry, beloved...friend, you'll be back out here with me soon, I put all this grandeur as witness of my promise."_

The atmospheric re-entry was as hot as she expected, though Clark's suit deflected a fair amount of heat. _"Thanks again, Kal"._ She shielded her eyes with her forearm to avoid blurry vision.

When the Amazon reached the stratosphere, she took a big inhalation to absorb whatever little oxygen she could. This removed the brick that was pressing her forehead and, from there, the way down was a lot better. Finally, she got their settlement on view range. She could see Clark looking in her direction. He had removed his shirt to work more comfortably and was waving at her. _"That's a sight for sore eyes."_ She enjoyed the view, waving back at him.

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Planet Fred - Fortress of Solely Two - 8:30 AM

Clark got on his feet. Resisting the Lasso took its toll on him, although magic didn't have such a strong effect now that he was powerless. Still, under the spell of the Lasso of Truth he did say he loved Diana; a thing he was reluctant to admit even to himself. Of course, he felt physically attracted to her since the first time he laid eyes on her, as every hot blooded male. And some cold blooded too. And some women, gay or straight as well. But later on, as he began to know her better, he started caring about her. Their friendship grew as she reciprocated the feeling. Both instinctively went to the other for advice, consolation, support, or just to hang out. They really, really enjoyed the other's company.

In battle they just need to look at the other to know what to do. Together they were an unbeatable force.

He wanted to ask her out, but the timing was never right, either she or he was involved in a romantic relationship with someone else when the other was free. Clark wasn't even sure when his friendship developed into love, he just found himself thinking about her more and more for some time now.

But then the opportunity presented itself: they were alone in this castaway situation ad...

"Stupid Lasso! Get out of my head!" he roared. "What if she doesn't love me back? Worse: what if she does, but our coupling doesn't work?! We'll be stuck in this goddamn planet with someone we will probably hate, given enough time! That can't happen between Diana and me, do you understand, damn piece of rope?!" He took both fists to his temples and pressed hard, trying to calm down. Gradually, his respiration went back to a normal rhythm.

"That's better. Keep it cool, Kent. You are not going to do anything that might hurt Diana. The best way to show her you love her is doing everything in your power to make her stay as comfortable as possible, until we can return home. Let's get to work. I've wasted too much time already."

He took his alarm clock and put it inside a metallic bowl, to amplify the sound, an old trick he learned from his parents. He wasn't taking any chances with Diana's safety.

One last look to the sky, and he got to his tasks at the Fortress.

He wished the windows could have glass, but without his heat vision to make it out of sand, the shutters will have to be blind. No point in wishing the impossible. He lifted one of the window frames to check the joints. Since he couldn't find any nail, he had to resort to making dowels out of the same wood to secure the parts together, and glued them in place with the same rubber he used to seal the walls. It was working perfectly: once the rubber dried, the union held firmly in place. The roof was a different story. The standard repairing kit of the Javelin included a lot of rivets in case the estranium panels of the external hull got loose due to a meteor crash or any other incident; so they used them to secure the panels forming the roof to the frame they made with the wings structure, a task which fell to Diana.

He presented the frame with the window hole in the wall. "Alright! A perfect match!" he said proudly. He began to adjust it in place.

Putting his mind into the task really helped to calm him down. After a short time, he began whistling 'Pop goes the World'. Every once in a while he checked the clock. By the time he was finished with the second of the three windows, the heat made him take off his shirt. He was drinking some water when the alarm went off. Immediately he gathered all his strength to pull repeatedly from the Lasso. A slight reduction on the tension of the golden rope was the indicator Diana was coming back. He kept his eyes in the direction marked by the Lasso. He smiled when her figure was visible descending from the clouds, like a white angel with red wings. _"That's a sight for sore eyes,"_ he thought starting to wave at her.

Before she landed, Clark took off the Lasso from his waist. He didn't want it to force him to say something he may regret.

"Greetings, strange visitor from another planet!" he joked, making the Vulcan salutation sign with his right hand.

"We come in peace." She followed his lead. "I guess that description applies to both of us here," she said, coiling her Lasso.

"So, how it did it go?" Clark asked.

"No luck. But we're just starting. It will take time, though. I combed an angular section of less than one degree today. I ran out of oxygen very fast." Her face showed concern.

"Unfortunately the oxygen recycling system of the Javelin was aft, and got destroyed with the explosion of the fuel deposit, and the last portable tanks were with me and in your E.V.A. suit, and both burnt during our entry. I don't think the helmet would be of any help, would it?" The Kryptonian hoped he could be more helpful.

"No. It only would narrow my view angle. It's what it is; it just will take a little longer." Diana began to unfasten the cape.

"Hold." he said. "Don't undo the cape. We just have to instruct the system to save the configuration of the suit as it is now, so we don't have to arrange it every time." He squatted in front of her. Diana's proximity made him a little nervous, but he tried to dismiss it and flipped the buckle open. Inside there were five kryptonian symbols. Clark pressed one of them and closed the buckle back. "There. Now the cape will be stored with the rest of the suit. You just have to punch the same code as when you activated it and it all will retract to the buckle again, now it will be prepared for you next time it activates."

"I wondered where do you put your cape every time you change into Clark Kent. When I took off your suit from you to nurse you," _-the thought of the sponge bath crossed both their minds- _"I removed the cape before closing it," the Amazon recalled.

"Yeah. How did you know the sequence code?" Clark wanted to know.

"It's in your database, silly: in case of medical emergency there were instructions on how to remove your uniform. It would help if you warn people that you wear nothing underneath," she teased.

Clark's face turned crimson. "I'll be right back." And she went inside the Javelin with a big grin on her face.

After changing to working clothes, the Princess shouted, "Kal! I'm going to check on Bruce to see if everything is alright!"

"Okay. Take your time. I'm good here!" the reporter shouted back. He was adjusting the third window in place when she came back, her face was serious "Everything okay?"

"Yes. It's just that it saddens me deeply to see him like that," she sighed.

"True. I really miss him barking orders and chiding everyone," Clark smiled.

"Including you," she replied, pressing her forefinger against his chest. "Sometimes I ask myself why you put up with that. First time he tried the bat-glare on me, I almost punch him out of the Watchtower. He never attempted that with me again."

"He respects you more than he does anyone," he confirmed.

"Sometimes I think you should put him in his place. Why don't you?" She looked deep into the Kryptonian eyes."When he starts giving you attitude I swear I could shout in your ear, 'Say something, Kal!'"

"Yeah. Sometimes I want to," Clark said.

"Then, why don't you?" Diana took a spoonful of water and started to drink.

Without neglecting his work, the former Man of Steel tried to explain. "See, there are two things to consider regarding my relationship with Bruce. First, I grew up concealing my abilities and who I really am in front of humans, in order to protect my secret identity and those closer to me. I had to let some bullies think they have me submitted back in high school (of course, I had my ways to make them pay for that), so this isn't very different."

"But you don't have to protect your identity in front of us..." Diana interrupted.

Clark stopped her with a gesture. "Second, and more important: the most valuable thing Bruce has is his self confidence. That certainty that there's nothing he can't do. This is more important than his considerable set of skills and even more than his extensive intelligence. He needs to be on top of any situation, the slightest doubt could get him or someone else killed. I even have to let him think that all his plans to take us Leaguers down in case we went rogue can work. Oh, yes, I know about them. In fact, I might have contributed with some ideas of my own, without him noticing. A few of them may actually work if the conditions were ideal. That's who he is, and because of that it's perfectly normal, in his case, to have trust issues. He must be always scheming, planning. Always a step ahead of everybody. And most of the time he is. He worked his ass off to achieve perfection, and he won't take anything less than perfection, not from himself, not from anyone. The thing with you is that you ARE perfection, so he's got nothing to reproach you."

"I..." She was about to protest.

"Shush, woman! I'm talking here." he chided her. Diana's mouth dropped open. Clark ignored her. "My point is, I'm not going to undermine that confidence arguing every single decision he makes. The rare times he's wrong, I find a way to let him know, otherwise, I play along. I know it could be hard for you to take orders, because, being a Princess, you are used to be in a position of authority and you take crap from nobody. But even you must admit that Bruce is a far better strategist than any of us."

That was too much insult for Diana "Excuse me? I'm a trained warrior who comes from a nation of war oriented people! I think strategy, I eat strategy, and when I sleep I dream of strategy! How dare you, you...!"

"Before you gut me, hear me out." There was a cold determination in Clark's voice which made Diana listen. "You are a great strategist, but, like me, you have a significant flaw: you are invulnerable"

"What's that have to do with anything?" Her voice still tinged with resentment.

"Everything" said Clark, with a scholastic tone "Bruce is so vulnerable that a single butter knife wound could terminate his life, so he takes that into consideration when plotting an attacking or defending situation, to make sure that doesn't ever happen, not to him, nor to anyone of us. Me? Sometimes I don't even bother to duck to dodge a blast from an enemy weapon, because my invulnerability will take care of that.

You are much better than me in that regard because of your training. Still you tend to consider things more in terms of attack than defense. I noticed that when we spar: you privilege the assault and sometimes neglect your guard, because..."

"...I let my invulnerability take care of that," she said pensively. "This is the first time I look at it from this point of view, Kal!" She looked at him with admiration. "I'm beginning to think that you are more than just a pretty, burnt face," she teased.

"Uh...Gee...thanks, I guess." He answered, "So, you see, I have to let Bruce be the boss for his own good. Many times an enemy sees me following Batman's orders and start thinking how dangerous this guy must be that he can boss Superman around. In the long run, we all benefit from it. He is a most valuable member of the League, and I am positive that we all will miss him the day he won't be with us anymore. Don't worry about this little dance he and I usually perform. I know I have his respect as much as he has mine. I wouldn't work with him otherwise."

"Okay. I understand now. Just tell me something: why are you so subtle and 'kid gloves on' with Bruce and so blunt and bold with me?" Diana asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Uuh...Hummm...It's just that...I...," he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes? Do I have to use my Lasso?" she took her hand to her hip.

"No. No Lasso. Truth is I can talk to you. I mean, really talk. I feel this connection. Even though we come from very different backgrounds, we have very similar ideas. I don't have to pretend when I'm with you. I don't have to be Clark Kent, nor Superman, not even Kal-El." He took advantage of his labor to avoid looking at her face. "I can be me. I don't know if it is this 'Avatar of Truth' thing you have, but I can't lie around you."

_Except about how I feel about you,_ he thought, turning to finally look at her. Diana was looking at him with such tenderness in her eyes that his heart melted right there. He was holding the leaf of the door, when he saw her face, his hands became unresponsive and the door fell on his left foot. "Owww! Son of a..."

"Kal!" Diana swiftly held the door and helped him sit on one of the stools. "Are you alright?"

"Yes! Is just this stupid door...!" he said, rubbing his foot.

"Oh, Kal. How can you be so clever one moment and so clumsy the next?" she asked trying not to laugh.

"Dunno. Talent, I guess." And they both laughed at the situation.

"And you forgot putting gel on your face and hands." She went to retrieve the jar where they have the 'glycos'.

"I didn't forget. I just wanted to work without bugs...bugging me uumpff!" He was cut in midsentence by Diana smearing gel on his right side of the face.

"There! Now, give me your hands," she ordered.

"Try not to enjoy this so much, 'nurse Ratchett,'" he said.

"Stop being such a big baby! It's for your own good!" the Amazon chastised him.

"Yes, mom..." He rolled his eyes.

"Okay now. You've said that we have half the gravel needed for the floor. I think I'll go smashing some stones to make the rest," the Princess said.

"Great!" he answered. "After I'm finish with the door, I'll begin digging the ditch around the Fortress to prevent water to enter inside."

"Sounds like a plan." She extended her fist, which surprised Clark, but he did the fist bump anyway. When she left, he thought with a smile. _"What an incredible woman!"_


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you all for the reviews.**

**Thanks Hellacre for her editing.**

**Chapter 13** - There's Something about Maxie.

**Day 8**

Almerac - City of Potentoris - Ancestral Hall

Hour of Tarin

Maxima was seated at the central table, inside the Conference Room where Peace Negotiations were taking place. Her boredom was way beyond her tolerance threshold.

"This is pointless! Both sides are purposely making demands and setting conditions they KNOW the other part will never accept. What is it they want? If they don't want peace, then why did they agree on meeting here?" She understood the need of each government to save face, diplomatically speaking, but this was getting ridiculous.

Her thoughts went back to the day before yesterday. Her Schedule Keeper had informed her that the Justice League requested an audience with her and they mentioned the name Darkseid.

Damn Darkseid. And damn Suupra for dealing with his minions to get Apokoliptian technology.

She conveniently left out the part that he did so to satisfy her whims. She wondered what the Leaguers had found out. Her obligations to the peace meetings had kept her unavailable to see those meddling intruders. Still, she wanted to know how far they went with their investigation, and her excuses would only work for so long. Hiding her head in the sand, like an Iscrovis bird, wasn't the answer.

"Think, Maxima, think," she urged herself. "You can blame this whole thing on Suupra and then get him killed. The idiot has outlived his usefulness, anyway. He wasn't able to find out if my beloved Kal-El was destroyed in that explosion or not. He is not even capable of recovering our missing scout ship!" A smile stretched her full lips, and a satisfied look illuminated her amber eyes. "Yes, disposing of Suupra would buy me some precious time."

The Queen slapped both hands on the conference table and stood up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems we are arguing in circles here. We suggest we take a recess to reconsider. We, as moderator, must urge you to find a common ground. The Court specialists in Interplanetary Law will have a first draft of an agreement tomorrow. We suggest you do the same with your own terms, substantiating your demands. We don't need to tell you how important this Peace Treaty is for the entire sector. Very recently, the name Darkseid has come to Our attention. I believe you all know what that means. It's better if we all stand as a united force or render the whole quadrant to him for the taking, while we are engaging in our own petty and childish arguments. But know this: in a divided quadrant Almerac will only stand for itself. We will fall fighting, if we must. Your worlds have been weakened by years of war, and Darkseid will find it all too easy to submit you and add you to his possessions." All voices rose in an attempt to protest, the Queen held her hand up and everybody got silenced. "This meeting is adjourned until tomorrow at the Hour of Hann." She took a small golden hammer and struck a little gong in front of her. Everybody stood up as the Queen abandoned the room, followed by her entourage.

As the Monarch was leaving Ancestral Hall in route to the Royal Palace, she instructed her Schedule Keeper, "Contact the League. Inform them We have an opening of fifteen chrons to receive them at Hour of Tersus. Tell them to be on time."

"Yes, Exalted One. Immediately," said the Schedule Keeper and went in the direction of the League quarters.

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"Triad" team quarters.

Hour of Valkriss

The Martian Manhunter thanked the Schedule Keeper, assuring their presence at the Palace, and sending him on his way.

"Maxima will receive us in...," he checked his watch, "three hours."

"Finally! That woman makes everything ten times more difficult than it should be! We could have seen her two days ago!" snapped Zatanna.

"Every second wasted is a second Darkseid gets a step closer to destroy any chance of peace in the sector," added GL.

"Unfortunately Rann and Thanagar delegates aren't doing anything to help speed up the peace negotiations. I'd say it's the opposite, really" said Zee.

"Yes..." J'onn was rubbing his chin. "Which gets me thinking: is it possible that both delegations had been infiltrated by Apokoliptian agents?"

"Sounds very plausible. I see Glorious Godfrey written all over it. It's clearly his M.O.," stated John.

"We must tell Hawkgirl and Adam to open their eyes and ears to see what they can find. I'll call them." The sorceress moved to a side tapping her communicator.

"This is another issue we'll have to discuss with the Queen," said GL to the Martian.

"Agreed. If there is any spy among the diplomats, with free access to the negotiation room, who knows what drastic action this person may attempt to end the conference. May even be carrying a bomb to detonate inside the room," answered J'onn.

"This is getting more complicated by the minute. I don't think Maxima is aware of all the ramifications that Darkseid's involvement implies. We must insist her cooperation with our investigation is in hers and the whole quadrant's best interest! She must let us search the delegates before they enter the conference room!"

Zatanna coming back from her talk with the other members interrupted Stewart. "Impossible. I've been through that with the Ancestral Hall security. Once all members of the delegacy were cleared by their respective government, they have diplomatic immunity, therefore, they can't be searched, detained or molested in any way," she said.

"Damn diplomatic immunity! It leaves our hands tied!" snapped John.

"In that case, we can't be absent from the conference table anymore. We've been excusing ourselves from assisting because of our investigation, but now it demands our presence where the danger might be," stated the Martian.

"Agreed," GL and Zatanna replied at the same time.

"Hawkgirl and Adam have been alerted and they are looking for any infiltration sign," Zee added. "Shayera is pretty sure this attitude from the Thanagarians is part of their usual charm. Still she'll be on her toes in case something suspicious happens."

Green Lantern looked at his watch. "It's still one hour until our report to the Watchtower and two and a half to see Maxima. Do we have all the evidence to present her with our case?"

"All here. 'Telbat'!" Zatanne pronounced, and a hand-held pad appeared in her hand.

"Good. We can take a moment to eat something. Any suggestions?" GL asked.

"'Slegab elub nezod a flah'!" recited the magician, and a tray with blue bagels materialized in front of them.

"Oh! You are terrible, Zee! These things are a vice!" lamented Stewart.

"And with good reason," informed J'onn. "I found out that the biqves, the blue fruit that constitutes the main ingredient is highly addictive, it affects the pleasure centers of the brain, pretty much like chocolate, but six times more powerful. In fact, its juice, once fermented, is a potent liquor they call 'mead', a favorite of the monarch. " The Manhunter took one from the tray.

"You mean that harpy is hammered when she's in her throne?" Zatanna asked in shock.

"No. Not with her superhuman constitution." J'onn eased her concerns.

"Pity," added Stewart. "That could have explained a lot." The three shared a laugh.

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Royal Palace

Hour of Tersus

J'onn, Zatanna and John waited outside the Throne Hall to be summoned by the Queen.

The golden doors opened.

"The Exalted One will receive you now," the Schedule Keeper informed. The three walked in line towards the throne and stopped six yards from it, awaiting orders, as protocol demanded.

Maxima whispered some instructions to one of her advisors, and, turning her attention to them, said with a gesture, "Approach". The Leaguers took a bow and moved to the steps in front of the Queen's seat. "We've been informed your investigation led to some discoveries," the Monarch began.

"That is correct, Exalted One," said the Martian, who had been appointed as spokesman. He presented all the evidence to the Queen. To say Maxima was shocked when she saw the origin of the attacking missile was an understatement. She never thought their planetary defenses could be trespassed by any means of teletransportation.

"A boom tube!" she exclaimed.

"A mini boom tube," Brega corrected her.

"Silence! How could this device breach our fortified perimeter?! Schedule Keeper! Cancel all Our next meetings and call the generals immediately to the situation room!" Maxima exploded. Changing her tone, she asked "Do you have any theories about this, J'onn?"

Martian Manhunter told her about their concerns and suspicions of an infiltration among the delegations, and the need to take decisive actions at once.

"But our conclusion, Exalted One, is that none of this would have been possible without inside help." The Queen was about to protest. "No, not necessarily a traitor. Darkseid's people are very resourceful. Sometimes, when they sell technology, they also include a 'Trojan Horse' hidden in it, which can invade Almeracs' systems, sending intel back to Apokolips about your defense grid, among other things. A year ago, the Justice League sent a message to all our allied worlds with a warning to prevent this situation from happening. Have you any knowledge of any recent acquisition any of your subjects could have made, Exalted One?"

If Suupra's execution was a matter of convenience up to this point, now it was completely justified in the ruler's eyes. _'Stupid fool! He should know whom he was dealing with'_ "It has come to Our attention that one of Our advisors, Lord Suupra, recently purchased technology from outside our world. The details of the transaction are in his possession."

"Then we'd like to interrogate him, with your permission, to find out about those details," J'onn requested.

"Certainly." _'In your dreams'_, thought the Queen. "He is on a mission outside the Capital. We'll send for him at once." She said instead, "We don't think he'll be back before tomorrow, though."

"As soon as possible, then, Exalted One. Thank you. In the mean time, we will resume our duties at the peace conference." To emphasize the seriousness of the situation, the Martian Manhunter, lowered his voice, adding with a rather ominous tone, "Maxima: this is Darkseid. No precaution is too much against him, and time is a luxury we don't have. The future of this entire sector depends upon our next steps. You know that."

The breach of protocol J'onn committed by calling her by her name took her by surprise, bringing her back to her brief period inside the League, but it achieved the desired effect. With a preoccupied expression, Maxima said, "T-this will be dealt with at once." '_Well_,' she thought, _'it's not completely a lie, anyway'_. "You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Exalted One. With your permission." With another bow, the three left the Hall.

Outside the Palace, Zatanna asked, "Do you think she finally got the seriousness of the situation, J'onn?"

"Yes. I believe this time it really sunk in," he answered.

"For all our sakes, let's hope so. Now what?" asked GL.

"Now we prepare for another boooooring day at the Ancestral Hall." Zatanna rolled her eyes.

At the Royal Palace, Maxima reunited with her generals in her situation room, scolding them for not preventing Darkseid's infiltration,

"This is unacceptable! Our planetary defenses rendered useless!?" She ordered the projection of the surveillance videos. "See that? That, ladies and gentlemen, is our worst nightmare came true! Almerac doesn't need this right now, in the middle of the peace negotiations. How can we provide security to the attendants when our own isn't guaranteed? And it had to be outsiders the ones to find out. Outrageous! We want immediate action in order to fix this enormous mess. Today We were using Darkseid's menace to help Us convince the ambassadors of the urgency of the situation we're facing. We don't want Almerac to be the entrance for that monster into this sector, is that clear?" Her eyes were two burning embers. "Order a complete and thorough search of every system on the planet to find the invading programs and to eliminate them. Consult with the League, if you must, since they have experience in the matter. Failure is NOT an option. Your positions...No, YOUR HEADS are at risk here, Generals. Is that understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Check and double check every step you take. Keep Us informed at every instance." She commanded, "Leave Us now".

Then she sent for Sikaruss, her most trusted hitman.

"Exalted On..." Sikaruss started.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. Your mark is Lord Suupra." The hitman was genuinely surprised, but he knew better than to ask anything. "This is his current location. It has to happen tonight and it must look like suicide. Get it done," she ordered.

"It shall be done," he answered.

"Good. Go," she dismissed him.

The Queen returned to the Throne Hall. Instead of going to her place, she approached the Mead Page, to his surprise, and poured herself a glass of the blue liquid, which she finished in one gulp and then another, taking the second with her to the throne. Maxima was uneasy. The complications kept piling one upon the other. So far, everything was under her control, or so she thought, but, for how long? Darkseid's hold on Almerac was an unforeseen consequence of her plan to eradicate Kal-El from her life. And a most unwanted one, at that. And Suupra, as stupid as he was, was still his wisest advisor. A waste to be forced to dispose of him.

The Queen descended her throne and went to the terrace, dismissing every courtier or servant who approached her asking if the Monarch wanted or needed something. The blue sun of Almerac will soon disappear under the horizon

"Oh, mighty Kloss, shine your light for me. Show me what path I should follow. My heart still aches for Kal-El and my mind is in fear for the future of my world. What should I do?" Maxima took to the skies. A little flight would help clear her thoughts. The view from above always soothed her head. A flock of marus came near her with their red feathered wings, bringing a smile to her face. When did she stop enjoying simple things? The voice of her father, King Maximino, sounded in her ears still. "Maxie, every morning Kloss shows his face to us is a miracle, and we must be thankful and praise our ancestors for it. Don't let it go wasted, my beautiful princess." She could feel the caress of his red beard against her chicks. Tears clouded her vision and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. On her short period on Earth, she tried to read as much as she could about kings and kingdoms of that world. She found herself taken by an author who seemed to have captured the thoughts, feelings and ambitions of the rulers better than any other, a certain Shakespeare. A phrase of him was the one which described her current state of mind perfectly: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown..."

"Uneasy indeed...," she said to herself.

Two hours later the ruler returned to palace, and went directly to her chambers. Once there, she ordered her main Chamber Aid

"Aleena, inform Manthus (the Schedule Keeper) that We will spend the rest of the evening in Our chambers. Have Our dinner served in here as well in one hour. But first, prepare the bath and help me out of this clothes."

Aleena removed the green and gold outfit while the other aids where taking care of the bath preparations.

"Which garments would you like me to get ready for you, Exalted One?" the aid asked.

"None. Only the silk robe. The light one," and added, "We want to watch the holo-records of Our childhood. Only the ones with my parents. Get them ready for Us."

"At once, Exalted One" Aleena answered.

After dinner, Maxima saw the holo-records, with special attention in the one where her father taught her how to fly. Feeling a little better, she decided it was time for bed. Her aids helped her to it. She always slept in the nude, saying she couldn't stand anything against her skin other than the silken sheets 'And, perhaps, Kal-El's body' The thought of him brought a warm feeling to her stomach, and the Monarch fell asleep with his image in her head.

"Max..." the voice sounded familiar. Soft and gentle.

Max. Open your eyes." She obeyed and saw Kal-El floating above her bed, completely naked and already aroused. With a gentle blow he removed the sheet covering her body. Her skin was tingling and the wetness between her legs was a clear sign of how ready she was, as well.

"It is you, my beloved Kal-El! You are alive, praise the ancestors! Oh, please, forgive me! I didn't..." she said. Her voice was shaking, part desire, part weeping.

"Shhhh...It's okay. We're together now. It's all that matters."

"It's all that matters." she repeated.

He descended over her until their bodies touched. His big hands began to roam her body, making her moan and tremble. His mouth was getting closer to hers and he captured her upper lip between his. Always slowly, he parted her lips with his tong and invaded her mouth in a passionate kiss to which she responded in kind, closing her flooded eyes. After a while, their mouths separated and she opened her eyes.

"Yes. You will provide me with a strong progeny." Darkseid rocky features were less than two inches from her face, and his rasping voice hurt her ears.

"AAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEHHHHH H!" Maxima woke up screaming so hard that every single crystal in the room shattered into a thousand pieces.


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you for the reviews, guys. Sorry I can't answer your questions without revealing too much. You understand.

Thanks to Hellacre for the editing.

Chapter 14 - The Way of the Warrior

Day 9

Planet Fred - Fortress of Solely Two - 5:30 Hs.

"WAAAAKE UUUP! COME ON, LAZY ASS! GET YOUR SORRY SELF OUT OF BED!"

"Wha...what's happening...?" A startled by all the shouting, but pretty much asleep Clark opened his eyes. "What time is it...?"

"Di?"

As his vision was clearing, Clark could see Diana standing in front of him, in full warrior gear, her hair tied in a bun with her own Lasso. Instead of her star spangled hot-pants she was wearing a leather 'pteruges' with metallic frills, and a blood colored top with silver straps and a steel eagle on her chest. Her feet sported open toe sandals strapped to her ankles and metallic greaves as tall as her knees. Besides her sword, which she kept pointed at him, she was holding her shield with her left arm. Two red and blue lines were drawn on her cheeks at either side of her nose.

The Kryptonian rubbed his eyes in surprise.

"Diana? What's going on?" he asked.

"Why are you still in bed? Get up-get up-get up-get up! Come-on!" the Amazon demanded, banging Eunice against the shield.

"Why? What for? What time is it?" he kept asking.

"Today marks the beginning of your Amazon training, little man. Those muscles won't stay in fit condition unless you use them, and you really need to work in your combat techniques, now that you can't rely on your powers." Diana spat at him, "I'll show you what separates a boy from a fully grown warrior. Rise!"

Clark lay back, covering his head with the pillow. "It's not even dawn yet! Call me back in two hours."

"Incredible!" The Amazon rolled her eyes. Grabbing one end of the bunk in which he slept, made by them so they could sleep in the Fortress, she pulled it up until he fell out of it.

"Hey! What the fu..!" the reporter shouted.

"Language, Kal! Language!" she chided him, whapping his butt with the flat of Eunice. "Pick yourself up! Come on-Come on-Come on-Come on! Put on some comfortable clothes and follow me outside. Move!"

Cursing the day he was born, Clark put on shorts, a tank shirt and sneakers. He splashed his face with cold water and brushed his teeth. When he got out of the Fortress the sky was just beginning to illuminate with the first morning glow.

"About time! Start stretching. We are going for an invigorating run to warm up," Diana stated.

"Sir, Yes-Drill-Sergeant, Sir!" he joked, stretching as he was told. So did Diana. When he was ready, the Amazon gave him a round shield made of a thick piece of wood and a heavy six foot seven bar made from the spars of the Javelin's wing.

"What are these?" Clark asked.

"Every Amazon must run with her spear and shield, and so shall you," the Princess answered.

"How long have you been planning on this?" the Kryptonian asked.

"Since day three. Come on!" and she start running through a lavender color prairie.

"Shit!" Clark, unable to refuse, ran behind her. At least, the view of Diana's tiny waist, her long legs and her firm butt bouncing in front of him, kept him entertained to avoid thinking on how tired he was getting.

When the first rays of light began to appear on the horizon, Diana stopped. Clark wanted to fall on his knees, but remained stoic, although breathing heavily and covered in sweat.

"Three and a half miles. Pretty decent for the first time. The goal is that you reach, at least, twelve. You are stronger than a common man, even without your gifts, so you should do much better." Diana's voice was calm and steady. No sign of sweat on her olive skin. Clark opened his mouth to snap something sarcastic at her, but no words escaped his lips under his exhaustion. "Take five to regain your normal cardiac rate while you flex your muscles. We've only just begun." She threw him a canteen filled with water she brought with her.

For another hour and a half she made him do push-ups, sit-ups, squatting, jumping, etc., until she was satisfied.

"Not too bad. Okay, Big Boy, show me what you've got," she said with a defiant smile, throwing her sword and shield.

"What? What do you want me...?" Clark started.

"Fight me. Let's see what are you made of. Don't be scared, I'll go easy on you," she teased.

"Okey-dokey. Here goes nothing." He remembered her fighting style from when they used to spar when he still had his abilities, and tried to use that knowledge. She kept blocking every blow he threw though.

"As usual, you are telegraphing your every move. You need to learn not to rely on your strength alone. Besides, you are leaving many openings in your defense. Like this!" The Amazon threw a punch to his stomach, making him bend over.

Almost out of breath, the Kryptonian gasped, "You hit like a girl..."

"I know, thanks!" She caught his neck under her arm, forcing him to bend even more. From that position, Clark saw an opening to the back side of her right knee, and hit as hard as he could, making her loose balance and fall, with him on top of her. "Very good, Kal! You are not such a lost cause after all!"

"First fall is for the Smallville Crows. Go team!" he said proudly. "Most people always forget that, even when I had my powers, I often have to fight opponents as powerful as myself or more, like Darkseid or Mongul. I've learned a thing or two along the way."

"Yes, but don't get cocky. You took me by surprise; don't count on it happening again. Now get up," the Amazon ordered.

After his first victory, she managed to throw him down every time.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Clark asked, wiping the dust from his butt.

"Immensely. This is for all the times you used your heat vision and arctic breath during our sparring sessions," Diana answered with a smile.

"Hey! It was you who insisted on me going full force on you!" he defended himself.

"I was talking about your combat skills, not your tricks and gimmicks!" she chided him.

"And what about your Lasso, Princess? You always used your Lasso." Clark crossed his arms on his chest.

"Eehr...obviously not the same thing! And don't call me Princess!" Diana rammed the Kryptonian to the floor.

The attack ended with her sitting on his chest, immobilizing his arms under her knees. From his position, her scent reached his nose. Wild orchids mixed with burning wood and some very, very feminine fragrance insinuating its way through it. It was intoxicating.

Before he got aroused, he shouted,"Uncle! Uncle! I give up!"

Diana helped him stand. "Enough dust biting for you today. Let's get to some techniques now."

For as long as another hour, she taught him evasive movements, blocking maneuvers, how to attack even when taking a defensive stand, and how to balance his body to make his blows more potent.

It was nine o'clock when they returned to their settlement.

"It was a good first session. Get used to this, because we're doing it every morning from now on," the Amazon stated

"Yaay..." he answered wryly.

Diana let her hair down, saying, "It's time to go up there and resume the search." The Princess pointed her finger to the sky. "Let me bath first, so I can go change into your uniform."

"Okay. I'll take a bath while you're in orbit. I'll prepare breakfast now," he replied.

Diana kept a basin with water scented by black flower petals in it to freshen up. Clark used it to wash his armpits and neck before breakfast.

After their morning meal, Diana went inside the Fortress to change. When she got out she approached their fireplace, where they made a bonfire every night to have dinner, chat and sing, and took up a partially burnt branch. The Kryptonian watched her with curiosity. When she turned to face him she had a sooty 'Happy face' drawn in the white circle of her chest.

Laughing, Clark asked her "And what is that for?"

"A little optimism doesn't hurt, does it?" she said smiling.

"You're absolutely right, it doesn't" he responded, handling the golden Lasso to her. Clark was still holding the other end when the Princess wrapped it around her waist. Diana wasn't susceptible to the magic of the Lasso, or so she thought, but an irresistible impulse invaded her, making the Amazon shortening the distance between them.

She looked straight into his eyes and then lowered her sight to his lips. It was but a second, after which she said, shaking her head, "Got to go. Wish me luck," and she took off.

"Good luck...," he said, tying his end of the rope to his waist.

As she was flying towards space, Diana wondered,"What in Hades was that? The Lasso never had that effect on me. I was about to kiss him!" And then she asked herself, "So? Would it be that bad? Why can't I show him my feelings? No! He's in a very vulnerable state right now. It wouldn't be fair. And, most importantly, I don't want to be chosen because I'm the only available option around! I want him to be completely mine, by choice. I want us to share the same feelings, not to be occasional sex mates because we are isolated on this planet! Great Gaea! We have to get out of here soon! I don't know for how long I'm going to keep up this resolve!"

Clark welcomed the cold water like a balsam. He'd taken the alarm clock with him and the Lasso was still attached to his waist. The workout had left him tired, covered with bruises and scrapes, but his muscles weren't sore. Not yet.

"I'm gonna be sooo sorry tomorrow," he thought. "But I will show her I'm no 'Cry Baby'. I can take it, can't I? Yeah. I'm gonna be the best Amazon...wait, Amazon? Aren't Amazons all girls? Amazon-o? That's it: 'Amazon-o'. Best Amazon-o ever! Man, that sounds kind of stupid... Anyway! My biggest worry is too much physical contact with Diana. Her soft skin, that beautiful scent of her. And my damn body reacting as if I were a teenager! I almost grew a boner earlier today, for pete sake! Heh! That's a problem the Amazons of Themyscira never had, for sure!"

After his bath, he picked up his things and went back to the Fortress. Looking down, his shadow called for his attention. Besides the common, well defined silhouette, there was a barely noticeable second edge to it. "That wasn't there a week ago." he said out loud. He went into the Javelin, to the control room, and removed two remaining pieces of the crystalline titanium shield still attached to the window frame after the explosion that crippled the ship. This crystal had the property of darkening when exposed to sunlight, much like photochromic lenses, but with a wider spectrum. With the two crystals, one in front of the other, shielding his eyes, he looked to the suns direction and saw a variation in the stars position: the white dwarf was sticking out from behind the red giant, which meant that in a few months it would be clearly visible at least a quarter of it

"I wonder how it would affect my condition. Will I have my powers partially restored? It's not a yellow sun, and I've never been under the influence of a binary system before. Under the blue sun of Almerac my abilities diminished, but pretty much it was all there, but now I'm in 'terra incognita'". He decided not to keep his hopes too high, and not to tell Diana about it still. She surely would find out by herself and probably arrive to the same questions, but it won't be him to be the one to lead her into disappointment.

In that moment, the alarm went off. He pulled the Lasso to warn his companion. Again, a reduction in the rope's tension told him she was coming back. "Thank goodness," he sighed.

At the same time, he heard the wind whistling above his head. Looking up he saw what looked like a huge bird, blue and green in color, with four legs finished in blue claws, a six foot tall body and a wingspan of about seven yards diving at full speed on him. Clark threw himself to the floor and the claws missed him by the skin of his teeth. He stood up immediately to grab the Plaser pistol from over the table, but the animal swatted it off his hand with the tip of its wing, regaining altitude afterwards. Knowing he got only a few seconds before the beast's next attack, he grabbed the estranium spear Diana made for his training.

Pa Kent once told him of a hunting trip he took with two friends into the Western Woods, where they were chased by a grizzly bear. The only way to get rid of the animal was making a long spear, letting the bear chase one of them where they had the weapon readied, and, when the beast was over them, lifting the tip of the spear to its chest, so the bear would impale himself with it by means of its own inertia.

"Sounds like a plan, Pa. Not an easy one, though. I only hope this spear is long enough." The Man of Tomorrow stood in the open, waiting for his attacker to return, holding the lance by his side. When the 'bird' threw itself on him for the final blow, he let himself fall on his back, holding the bar perpendicularly to the ground.

In that precise moment, Diana broke the veil of the clouds and saw the animal throwing itself over Clark.

"KAL!" Her scream thundered for miles. She took a dive with such speed the air around her started to burn and a sonic boom could be heard. The bird was shaking, and Diana thought the worst. She landed with her fists on the monster's back, with full force.

"Ooow! Stop! Di, stop! cough...cough!" It was Clark's voice from under. She finally saw the end of the lance emerging from the body of the dead beast. Diana lifted it.

"Kal! Oh, Kal! Are you alright!?" The beak of the animal was stuck in the ground just millimeters of his right ear.

"I was, until you punch us! Get this monster off me. It weights a ton...Thanks!" he coughed, covered in mud and brown blood from the beast. Diana helped him up, checking his limbs and torso, looking for injuries or broken bones. When she was satisfied everything was okay, she took Clark in her arms in a long, tight embrace. His heart was racing.

"Oh you, brave...stupid, stupid man! Don't you ever do that to me again!"

Clark had his arms hanging at both sides of his body and, slowly, raised them to encircle her torso, returning her hug. They remained like that for a long while.


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry for the delay. Shame on me.

Thank you all for the reviews.

**Special thanks, as usual, to Hellacre for the editing.**

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Chapter 15 – Schemes, plans and plots.

**Day 9 (cont.)**

**Almerac - City of Potentoris – Royal Palace**

Hour of Exima

"Exalted One," Aleena's voice was little more than a whisper, "it's time. Please do wake up."

The Queen opened her eyes in a strange (yet familiar) bed, inside a chamber that was not hers. "What…?" The memories of last night's nightmare and her violent awakening came rushing to her, as a chilling sensation ran down her spine. Not a single crystal in the Royal Chambers had remained intact after her scream, and she had to spend the night in the chambers of her childhood.

She could almost hear her mother's steps moving around and her voice urging her to get out of bed. A bitter-sweet feeling filled her at the memory of her mother.

King Maximino and Queen Ealtha's marriage had been arranged by their parents, in order to continue with the carefully engineered genetic process that produced the royal lineage of super beings, of which Maxima was the latest and most powerful product. There had been no love between the monarchs. In fact, they could hardly tolerate each other. One thing they had in common, though, and that was the unquestionable love for their daughter, who was supposed to be followed by a male child, a brother, when the circumstances were right.

Unfortunately, the right moment never came, because the Queen escaped with one of the court advisors to another solar system. The King ordered their capture at any cost.

They were brought back to Almerac and executed for treason. The look on Ealtha's face when the blade fell was fresh in Maxima's memory as it had just happened moments ago.

Both, the King and Queen, enjoyed absolute freedom to have separate love lives, as long as they were kept a secret, but the Queen's romantic nature demanded her to live this ill-fated romance to its fullest, without hiding her feelings. It was that similar romantic nature, taken to a dangerously obsessive level, that now was causing Maxima so many problems.

"Have Our bath ready," she said dryly to Aleena. "Today I'm wearing the silver and red outfit to the conference."

"Yes, Exalted One," the chamber aid responded. "The preparations in the Royal Chambers are well underway and will be ready for you tonight."

"Excellent. We don't want to spend another night here. In fact, order the royal architects to re-decorate these chambers completely in a more adult fashion. No more pink. From now on it's going to be…_green_. Have the arrangements made for that to happen," ordered the Queen.

"Immediately, Exalted One. Anything else?" asked the aid, covering the Queen's nudity with a blue silk robe, as she came out of bed.

"Yes. Any messages for Us?" demanded the monarch.

"No messages, but Captain Sikaruss, of the Royal Honor Guard, requested a private audition," Aleena informed.

"Very well. Send him in with the breakfast, after the bath." And the Queen went into the bathroom.

Thirteen crons later Maxima was seated on the arm chair with an aid drying and combing her luxurious, red locks.

"Bring Captain Sikaruss in, Aleena," Maxima ordered.

The Captain entered the room holding a tray with the Queen's breakfast.

"With your permission, Exalted One," he stood by the door with his head inclined.

"Oh, Captain. Enter. You two: leave us," she said to the aids. The Queen had left the belt of her silken robe purposely loose to show some of her creamy white skin. "Please, leave the tray on the table."

Sikaruss did as told and began to pour some yellow tea into the Queen's exquisitely crafted cup, handling it to Maxima. When they were alone, the monarch asked: "Well?"

"It is done. They must be about to find the body as we speak," he said with an ice cold inflexion.

"How?" she asked again.

"Poison."

"Ah. The coward's way out. It suits him. Excellent." The Queen's amber gaze shined with malice.

"I thought it might please you." His face remained unexpressive.

When she bent to grab a bagel, a nipple sneaked out her robe. Pretending she hadn't noticed, Maxima took a bite of the pastry, chewing very slowly. "Any inconvenience to report? Did anybody see you?" The woman locked her eyes inquisitively on his. The Captain looked straight to her amber irises.

"No problems at all. My presence went absolutely unnoticed. There isn't even a single strand of DNA to connect me to last night's events." If Sikaruss was aware of her exposed bosom, he didn't show. This pleased and excited her greatly. The Captain was a tall and extremely handsome man, with a strong jaw, brown hair and icy grey eyes. Maxima found him utterly irresistible, especially because he seemed unaffected by her incredible beauty.

"We're pleased. Why don't you take advantage of your stealth skills to visit me tonight at the Royal Chambers, past the hour of Chanys? I want to reward you properly." She slowly covered her nipple with the robe as she spoke. The Captain knew all too well this wasn't a request, this was an order.

"As the Exalted One pleases. Your wishes are my command." He answered diplomatically, taking a bow.

"Off you go now! I have a busy Schedule. Tell Aleena to come in on your way out." A liability risk was averted; still Maxima knew Suupra's advice will be missed. He was an idiot, but a useful one. Yet he provided a greater service being the perfect scapegoat at this particular moment. This would deflect the Justice League's attention away from her.

"With your permission, Exalted One." Aleena and the other two aids came in carrying a beautiful gown of red and silver with matching boots. Maxima stood by the triptych mirrors as the women helped her get dressed.

As the Queen checked her image in the mirrors, she asked Aleena, "Had the Specialist in Interplanetary Law brought the preliminary draft as ordered?"

"Yes, Exalted One. It is waiting on your office's desk for you to read. So I've been told," the first aid said.

"Good. Have the Schedule Keeper meet me there." Taking a last, satisfied look at her reflection, Maxima abandoned the chambers in route to her office. Every guard posted along the wide corridors stood in at attention as she passed them. The Schedule Keeper was already waiting for her by her office door.

"Good morning, Exalted One. May Kloss smile upon you," he said, taking a bow.

"Manthus," she responded. A servant held the door open for them. "Activities for the day?"

"If I may, Exalted One. I have terrible news." The old man announced with a grave voice, " Lord Suupra was found dead in his chambers at the Eprion Center early this morning."

"Suupra? How…?" asked the ruler, pretending to be surprised.

"Suicide, apparently. Poisoned. No note, but considering the latest developments and the Darkseid situation, everything points in that direction. Reports of his state of mind indicate that he wasn't himself lately," informed Manthus.

"That's terrible! An announcement shall be made: by Royal decree, this day and the following will be of mourning in his honor. The yellow banner will be raised alongside with our flag in all masts of Potentoris and the provinces capitals," Maxima ordered. "Has his family been informed?"

"Not yet, Exalted One."

"I shall be the one to do so. Suupra was an outstanding advisor and a man of the state, but most importantly, he was a friend." By the surprised look on Manthus face, the Queen suspected she was overdoing it. "No. His family would be better informed by the usual channels, with a note with my condolences, as protocol demands. That's the proper way."

"Of course, Exalted One. Of course." The man's face regained its composure. "The Leaguers expected to have a talk with Lord Suupra…"

"Yes, yes. Let them know the actual situation at once, before we meet at Ancestral Hall." '_After all, this was done on their behalf and for their benefit, and I'm dying to see their faces,_' thought the ruler. "Clear Our schedule for the day, except the inevitable activities and those regarding Suupra's demise. Surely We'll be busy enough with the discussions about the preliminary agreements with the representatives of Rahn and Thanagar. Now leave. We need to read these papers before the conference."

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**Almerac - City of Potentoris – Ancestral Hall - Main entrance**

Fourth day of negotiations.

Five crons to Hour of Tarin

"Am I the only one who sees this extremely convenient for the Queen?" Zatanna was turning her hat around her fingers nervously, over and over.

"Quit doing that!" Stewart spat at her.

"Why?" the magician shot an unfriendly look at him. "Does it bother you?" she teased.

"It makes me cranky. You don't wanna see me cranky, conjurer." GL raised his fist, showing her his ring.

"Stop you two!" J'onn didn't shout, but his tone was firm. "We have enough with the death of Lord Suupra to deal with. We, and when I say 'we', I mean myself, don't need an argument between the both of you.

If this is a move from Maxima's part, and that's yet to be proven, there's very little we can do now. We must concern ourselves with the conference's security."

"Yes, you're right," said a regretful sorceress. "What can Hawkgirl and Adam tell us about the delegations?"

"So far, nothing unusual. Today the representatives are going to read their proposals, and the Queen will present her government's draft. Let's be prepared for hostilities to arise afterwards. Zatanna, any ideas on how to uncover any foul play?" asked the Martian.

"Actually, it's just an idea John and I are developing," said Zatanna. "Since none of the delegates can be frisked directly in search for weaponry or explosives, I thought of casting a spell to highlight any suspicious device the attendees may carry in their briefcases and folders, or even inside their bodies…"

"A suicidal bomber?" interrupted the Martian.

"We can't discard any possibility," added John. "Zee's plan has merit, but discretion is mandatory, or what we're trying to prevent, meaning the interruption of the negotiations, will come to pass. My ring can transmit a neuro-signal directly to my optic nerve, so, if Zatanna launches her spell but on a frequency of the spectrum only my ring can handle, I may be able to see if the delegations have a saboteur among them."

"Sounds like a good plan," conceded J'onn. "How long until we can put things in motion?"

Stewart and Zatanna looked at each other. He shrugged and the magician said, "We were about to make a trial run today, if we all agree."

"Make the necessary preparations," ordered the Martian Manhunter. "We have little time before today's meeting begins."

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**Ancestral Hall – Thanagarian Delegation seats.**

Shayera was completely oblivious of what was going on around her. Her mind seemed unable to move away from last night. Due to their respective obligations, her encounter with Katar from three nights ago had to be postponed until the night before.

_They were hungry for each other's touch, to the point that, when their bodies finally met, their caresses had an almost electrical feeling to them._

_After an intense love making session, they started talking about their plans to run away together._

"_Magpie! That…that was…," Katar began._

"_I…know…" She needed a moment to return to the here and now. They both did. After they caught their breaths, Hawkgirl turned to face him "So, Big Guy, you tell me what your idea is, and I'll tell you mine…"_

"_Alright. In one of my solo missions to the far side of this galaxy, I had to stop to rest and replenish my reserves of fuel and food. I stumbled upon a backwater planet in an uncharted section of the quadrant, far from every known commercial or military route. Because of that, a refueling station had been established there to provide attention to pirate ships and all sort of illegal activities. No need to tell you how they reacted when they saw a Thanagarian officer. I had to fight my way in, killing a couple of scum bags, and making a mess to the place to convince the owner that I wasn't there in an official capacity, that all I needed was fuel and supplies and was willing to pay for them._

_She turned out to be a reasonable business woman. After making me swear I won't reveal the location of the station, which I had no intention to do, anyway, we traded to a mutual satisfaction. I offered to pay for the damages to the place, but she said that was something that happened at least once a week in her establishment. The main reason for not disclosing their whereabouts was that I've learned, after many missions gone bad, is always safe to have a secret place to lick your wounds when you're on the run from the enemy and unable to reach your comrades._

_In spite of the colorful costumers, the planet is a beautiful place, with a bright, yellow sun, green oceans and extensive prairies of the most intense purple. I had time to roam and do some scouting and sightseeing. There's a particular spot on the antipodes of the station I found really beautiful: a lake surrounded by a forest where we can build our home, if you find it adequate."_

'_A home. Our home' Shayera thought. "Sounds very tempting. And what will we make a living of, hunting and fishing?"_

"_And love making," he teased. "Hunting is right, only not fauna. Since we both have the necessary training and skills, and we are used to deal with dangerous and evil people, I say we become bounty hunters. You already do the job with the League for free."_

"_Yes, but I never caught somebody unless all the evidence backs me up," she warned._

"_Neither did I. We can agree on only going after proven criminals and, maybe, some rescue missions. This way, we also provide a valuable service to the whole galaxy at large."_

"_You seem to have thought this thoroughly," Shayera said._

"_Magpie, even though we've known each other for a short time, I feel this inescapable pull towards you. Our visions, our physical connection. It's like you're the missing part of my soul, and, now that we're whole again, I don't want to let go. This is it, for me." His dark eyes spoke of sincerity. Hawkgirl felt deeply moved by his words. Nevertheless, she had to say._

"_My proposal still stands: if what we feel is authentic, it can endure a short separation…say, a year." Her heart shrank at the sole mention of being apart that long. "I say we meet in that lovely place of yours a year from now. If things are still the same between us, I swear I'll never leave your side again."_

"_A…year? Okay. Deal. I strongly protest, but you have a deal. If the physical pain I felt this past three days for not having you is any indication, it will be a year of hell," the Commander reluctantly said, and he added, "What if anything happens to one of us and can't keep our…appointment? What then?"_

_An image of another redhead in a wheel chair appear in Shayera's head. "Right. We have to take precautions to prevent any misunderstanding. In that case, a messenger will meet the other part to inform."_

"_Mmmm. Not good enough. I have a counterproposal: every Creerebyan cycle (AN: Creerebys being the larger of Thanagar moons) we'll contact one another to check everything's alright. It doesn't need to be an extended chat, just 'hello, how are you' will suffice, just to keep in touch," responded Katar._

"_Good. We have to commit on keep calling the other even if our feelings cooled down, and inform the change of situation. This way, the only reason to stop calling will be that something went wrong," she said._

"_And if one of us should go on an undercover mission, unable to make contact with the other?" he asked._

"_Mmmm. In that case, before going below the radar, an emergency call should be made with a code word..."_

"_Hawkeye!" he exclaimed._

"_Perfect!" Hawkgirl put a big smile on her face."It is set, then. A year from the end of the Peace Negotiations. Whatever the outcome of these. Agreed?"_

"_Agreed, under protest. Now…what can I do to make you remember me for as long as a year…?" Katar pulled her on top of himself._

Shayera had barely slept last night. It seemed hard to remain alert. Seated at the sector reserved for Thanagarian aids, she waited for the delegation to arrive. Her communicator beeped and, touching her ear, she responded:

"Hawkgirl here."

"Hawkgirl, this is Green Lantern. Stay alert. When all the delegations are in place, Zatanna and I will try something to uncover any attempt to sabotage the conference. If we're successful, things can get out of hand fast. Keep your eyes open. Your priority is to protect the heads of Thanagarian ambassadors. Acknowledge."

"Understood." '_Yeah. The icing of the cake: protect those pigheaded morons',_ she thought. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and sipped her purple tea, a strong mix of a slightly bitter flavor, which was supposed to help her stay awake.

The last to enter the Conference Room was Queen Maxima followed by her cortege. J'onzz and Stewart occupied their seats, but Zatanna stayed behind, standing by a wall facing the room. Closing her eyes she whispered:

"Here goes nothing: Ekam yreve nopaew, evisolpxe ecived ro oidar detavitca sutarappa time a langis ylno ni eht net ot eht sunim htneethgie rewop ycneuqerf fo eht citengamortcele murtceps." She'd been practicing that the whole night. Her only hope was that it came out right. Tapping her com, she called, "Zatanna here. Green Lantern, if everything went well you might be able to see something now. Acknowledge."

"Understood. Activating enhanced vision now," said GL. Turning his head slowly he scanned the whole room, searching for a sign. Anything suspicious would be glowing green. Nothing. That was actually good news, but only if Zee's little trick was effective. Suddenly something he perceived with the corner of his eye caught his attention: among the Thanagarians, the eyes of a very tall officer, with raven black wings, were emitting a soft green glow.

"Hawkgirl, this is Green Lantern. Come in," he said in a very low voice, touching his ear.

"Hawkgirl here. Hold, Green Lantern." She moved away from her seat, towards the rest rooms exit. On the central table, Queen Maxima was opening the negotiations of the day. "Yes, GL, what's happening?" Shayera asked.

"Thanagarian sector. Second row. Seat number 12. Get to that officer and make him follow you discretely to the rest rooms corridor. Acknowledge," John said.

"Underst…" Hawkgirls eyes followed the indications. Her pale face got ivory white in horror when she saw it was Katar the occupant of that seat.

"Hawkgirl, is there anything wrong? Shayera?" Green Lantern asked.

"N-nothing wrong. Please, repeat subject's location." After GL confirmed, Shayera whispered "Understood. Moving to subject's position." Folding her wings very close to her body, she moved through the third row of seats. When she was behind him, gently touching his shoulder she whispered "Commander Hol. Excuse me, sir, but there is something of the utmost importance we need you to see."

Feigning contempt, Katar asked "Can't it wait? We're in the middle of something here, in case you didn't notice, Leaguer."

"Very sorry, sir, but no. There's a security matter we need to solve right now, and we need you," Hawkgirl said impatiently.

Sighing heavily, for everyone to see, the Commander apologized with one of the delegates and followed her. In the corridor Zatanna and John, who excused himself from the negotiations table, were waiting.

"Shayera? What's happening? What can I do for the Justice League?" Katar asked surprised.

"Cut the crap, Thanagarian. Where do you have it?" said GL pointing his ring to him. He could see the thanagarian's eyes like two green embers now.

"Where is what, Lantern? Shayera, what is he talking about? Explain immediately what's going on!" the Commander's hand went instinctively to the hilt of his sword. Giving Hawkgirl a supplicant look, "Magpie?"

"I have this, Shay." Seeing the confused desperation in her friend's face, Zatanna explained, "Commander, we are looking for a weapon or bomb hidden among the delegations. Everything points in your direction."

"Peacock! If you have something to tell me, please do it now! We are trying to save the negotiations!" Hawkgirl begged.

"I don't know what you are all talking about, damn it! I'm working for the good of the peace conference too! What is happening! I have no weapon, other than my sword, and it is permitted by protocol, as is your mace!" shouted Katar. To Shayera he sounded sincere, but the evidence pointed to the contrary.

"John, are you positive about this?" asked Hawkgirl to GL.

All eyes turned to him "As positive as I'll ever be. I can see it clearly now."

Taking advantage of the fact that Katar was looking in Green Lantern's direction, Hawkgirl rose her mace and hit him hard in the head, rendering him unconscious. She immediately knelt beside him and, taking his helmet off, cradled his head in her lap. "Nobody touches him!" she said with a strangled voice. "Where can I take him for safety, until we can figure this out? John?"

"The Javelin is the safest place. We'll put him inside a stasis pod. At almost absolute zero, no signal can trigger the explosive he is carrying," responded GL. Looking to his ex-girlfriend's concerned face, he added "And he will be safe there."

Shayera took Katar in her arms and quietly sneaked to the back of Ancestral Hall, followed by John. Zatanna went to the negotiations table, where she informed the Martian about the mission status. "Situation is contained. Subject is being moved to the Javelin and will be put in a stasis pod, for the moment."

"Understood. We'll go there when today's session finishes," said J'onn. Zatanna nodded.

Maxima couldn't help but notice strange movements coming from the Justice League table with a frown of preoccupation. Damn the hour she got those pests involved. The Queen needed to know what it was all about. Did they find out what really happened to Suupra? She was reading her proposal, so her concerns will have to wait.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the delay.**

**As usual, special thanks to Hellacre for the editing. **

**Chapter 16** – I want to tell you…

**Day 19 **

Planet Fred – Fortress of Solely Two – 7 A.M.

Diana looked at the watch Clark gave her on the night table he'd made for her. It was natural for her to slip it on her wrist first thing in the morning now. It was a way to touch him. If they were on Earth, she could already see the ads of the famous Swiss watch brand saying "GMT, Wonder Woman's choice…" etc. Good thing they were elsewhere.

The first morning glow could be seen through the open window. The Amazon was always the first to rise, so she could say her morning prayers at dawn.

Diana met personally many of her people's gods, spent time around them, fought them, helped them and acted as their champion on occasion. She had limited respect for them. They seemed powerful and wise, yes, but in truth, they behaved like little children much too often for her to have an elevated opinion of them. All except Athena and Aphrodite. They were something else. Both the goddesses of wisdom and love were exactly that: Athena was Wisdom, which made her realize that more often than not, gods decisions and acts are dangerous to human beings, so she stayed as far as she could from them, acting only through deputies and messengers, of whom Diana was her most trustworthy. Aphrodite was Love, in its more pure and raw form, emotionally and physically. She understood perfectly the passions she instilled could unleash the delights of Elysium, but also the wrath of Tartarus, but she also knew for fact that a life without love isn't a life worth living. The goddess saw in Diana a huge capacity for giving and receiving love, and that made her the favorite of the goddess. Of all the gods, these two were the ones the Princess truly respected, but her prayers to them were only a way to let them know she was at their service whenever they needed her, nothing more.

Diana didn't really pray to any of those gods looking for answers: what she really felt was that there should be something else, something more; so she prayed in the hope that one day she might know what that was and to show gratitude to the whole Universe for the life bestowed upon her, which let her experience the wonders of existence. These were her thoughts as she was getting out of bed.

Before going out to wash and pray, her morning rituals began by taking a mischievous peek at Clark from behind the curtain they both had weaved from straw to separate the beds and maintain some privacy. His torso was usually uncovered, and she enjoyed greatly roaming it with her eyes. The Kryptonian rolled to lie on his back, facing up, and Diana could clearly see the sizeable tent formed by the sheets in his middle area. Her cheeks begun to burn and she pulled the curtain back in place.

Breathing agitatedly, she moved fast outside the "Fortress."

"Speaking of 'wonders of existence'. Great Gaia, Kal!" she said in a low voice to herself. Involuntarily her memory went back to their first day on Planet Fred, when she had to lower his fever washing his naked body with a sponge and cold water. Even in the direst of moments, she had memorized every square inch of his anatomy.

"That does it! Today I won't be able to close my eyes without having those visions in front of me! Sweet Aphrodite, why do you test me like this?" The morning was cool, but she was sweaty. She realized she won't be able to concentrate in her prayers for the moment and decided to go to the pond hoping the cold water would help calm her down.

_At 25 Diana was in no way a virgin. She'd first experienced sex with Steve Trevor during a period when, due to a dispute with Zeus, the King of the Gods, he had stripped her of her superpowers. Always seeing the positive side of things and following Aphrodite's advice, she seized being a mere mortal as the perfect opportunity to finally say yes to the captain's insistent requests. Until then, she had refused her then boyfriend, not because she wasn't curious about physical intercourse, but because she was afraid to cause him certain damage._

_It all went well: Steve was experienced, caring and generous as a lover, and she, although her feelings towards him were somewhat confusing, found the experience highly enjoyable. But then her punishment time was over and Athena, with her father's permission, restored her superhuman gifts. Having had the most beautiful woman in the world in his arms periodically for nearly three months, there was no way Steve would be willing to renounce her, because he had fallen badly for the Amazon. In spite of Diana's warnings, he wanted her in his bed, to which she reluctantly agreed. Sometimes lust gets the best of us, and the Captain's stubbornness backfired on him. The strength level difference resulted in a very painful experience, two broken ribs and a three and a half weeks recovery period for "Little Zipper", as he called his manhood. After that, Diana was adamant in keeping the relationship strictly platonic, which finally ended the romantic affair between them._

_And then there was Clark._

_From the moment they first met she felt an undeniable attraction towards this Kryptonian, so god-like but with none of their flaws. Although he was taken at the time, she could see he wasn't indifferent to her, but his strong sense of loyalty prevented him to be nothing more than a friend to the Amazon. Still, their hands sometimes spoke for them: they had that kind of friendship in which physical contact, like hugging, holding each other's hand, touching their faces, removing a lock of hair from the other's forehead or even a slap on the shoulder to show disapproval weren't unusual. Their sparring sessions were something else. Not only because of their similar levels of strength, which made the Justice League Satellite tremble, but also because the sexual tension was palpable._

_But there was more: they could talk until they lost track of time, they understood each other with just a look. They completed one another's sentences. Hal and Barry used to exchange an amused look whenever that happened, saying (with a hint of envy):_

"_GAR! (Get-A-Room)"_

"_Yeah, man, definitely GAR!"_

_Everybody wondered why they weren't lovers already._

"And so do I!" Diana said out loud, already into the water. She forced herself to remember what happened with Steve. She won't do anything that could cause Clark some injury, so bedding him was out of question. The cold water wasn't working. She will have to take matters in her own hands. Literally.

Closing her eyes, she caressed her breasts. Her left hand descended until it reached her groin, which she began rubbing with her fingers, softly at first but then increasingly faster, as faster as her breathing was getting with every stroke. Diana clenched her teeth, behind her closed eyelids images of Clark kept popping before her.

"Kal…oh,Kal…," she whispered. As the Princess was nearing her release, she had to bite her lower lip to avoid shouting his name. Her body contracted repeatedly for a few seconds, as she exhaled violently.

With her whole body still shaking, Diana opened her eyes. To her surprise, she discovered she was floating several feet over the surface of the pond.

Letting herself drop back into the water, she said: "Some morning prayers…!"

The pink-orange light of dawn fell over her body through the trees as she finished bathing. An overwhelming feeling of sadness invaded her. She wanted this to be WITH him, not ABOUT him.

"Why can't I lose my powers as well?" She scowled at the red sun. "If you were your cousin, Apollo, I'd had a few selected words to tell you!"

As she approached their lair, she saw Clark already in his work-out clothes.

"Morning, Sensei" he said, taking a bow.

"Not funny." She spat dryly, getting inside the building to change into her training attire.

"Wha…? But I…! Diana?" Clark looked at her in confusion.

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Planet Fred – Fortress of Solely Two – 7:15 A.M.

Clark opened his eyes looking up to the ceiling of their refuge. When he lowered his gaze saw his morning wood pointing at the zenith.

"Damn! I hope Di didn't see you, you indiscreet nuisance!" Images of the last dream danced confusedly in his memory. He couldn't recall what it was about, but it was with the Amazon, for sure. He sat in the bed, pulling his feet out, trying to calm his physical enthusiasm thinking ugly thoughts. Images of the day at the pond, when he took a shot at Argos with the Plaser and the Princess put herself between the purple beast and the blast, completely naked… "Not helping! Goddamn eidetic memory!"

_During his teenage years this stiff awakening was an almost daily manifestation. His powers were still developing and his relationship with Lana Lang was just starting. They were both seventeen and eager to experience these physical sensations the other's contact provoked, at first timidly, advancing a little more each time, until one evening, at a romantic picnic by the creek, they finally went all the way. Clark's strength already was above that of the strongest man so Lana ended a little bruised and shaken, but they had a sweet and enjoyable first time. With practice, Clark learned to control his movements to avoid hurting Lana, but his gifts continue growing until the possibility of losing control and seriously harm his sweetheart became real. Trusting his first love completely, Clark told her about his gifts and the reason why they couldn't continue having sex. Lana knew her boyfriend was special, only she didn't know how much. Still, she was skeptical about what Clark was telling her, and even accused him of seeing someone else. By way of an answer, he took her in his arms and jumped as far as two crop fields away. Speechless, the red haired girl looked at him in astonishment. The Boy of Steel thought that look was of terror and disgust, but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. "I'm not letting you go. Even though we can't do it the traditional way" said Lana, lowering her eyes "We could pleasure each other with our hands and…mouths." Her freckled cheeks became two red apples. They loved each other so much that found no trouble in reaching a compromise in order to be together. As time passed and they grew older, though, this practice was no longer enough. Plus their vision of the future and career choices began to split them apart. By the time they both left Smallville to go to college they were only friends. Friends who deeply cared for each other, but friends nonetheless._

_When Clark moved to Metropolis looking for a job, having finished college, he began his exploits as the caped defender of the oppressed and innocent. But his social life could be described as monastic, with no physical contact with women whatsoever. _

_Among the people he had to confront, there was this Lex Luthor, a rich, sick bastard with more than genius level intellect, who took advantage of everyone and everything that could help him rise to power. In one of their clashes, Lex attacked him with a red sun ray emitter. After beating Luthor, again, Clark took possession of the weapon and examined the device carefully, realizing that being powerless temporarily could work in his benefit, and hoping it would serve him reactivate his dormant sexual life. Yes, it might have sounded petty and selfish from his part, but, as much as powerful as he was, he also had needs like everyone else. One couldn't do a good job without eating or sleeping properly, and human contact was as necessary as satisfying those urges. Turning the apparatus into a wide angle projector, with attenuated output, Clark installed it in his room, out of sight. That meant he could only do "the nasty" in there, no spontaneity like having a "quicky" on the elevator and such, but it was a serious improvement. "Superman", as the citizens of Metropolis began to call him, showed a more relaxed and calmed temper from then on. Clark found it comical that his worst enemy had provided him with such a helping solution._

Sitting in his bed at the "Fortress", the Kryptonian looked around to make sure Diana wasn't anywhere near. His first impulse was to seek relief on his own, but the subsequent mess dissuaded him. Not inside the house, at least.

Dressed with a tee, Bermuda shorts and tennis shoes, he went outside. His friend was still up and Clark decided, since he couldn't risk Diana coming back and find him busy doing monkey stuff, he would exercise it down. He tried doing Tai-chi forms. Taking a deep breath, he began moving slowly and focusing on breathing.

"Focus on 'Chi'. Send air to Tan-tien". By the second 'Embrace the Tiger and Return to Mountain' his "problem" was back to its normal state. Not a minute too soon, because he saw Diana returning from the pond.

"Morning, Sensei" he said, taking a bow.

"Not funny." She spat dryly, getting inside the building to change into her training attire.

"Wha…? But I…! Diana?" Clark looked at her in confusion.

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When she came out in full gear, her face looked a little upset still, but more sad than angry.

"Ready?" she asked with a neutral voice. The Kryptonian turned to face Diana.

"Di, what's the matter? Are you okay?" He took a worried look at her. "You seem to be having a rough morning."

"It's nothing. (sigh) I woke up realizing I have a few too many unresolved issues." The Amazon lowered her eyes.

"Something back home? Is there anything I can do to help? If it is about our forced staying here, let me assure you, we will get out of this accursed planet." Clark tried his best to exude confidence. "I'm here if you want to talk. I'm always here for you, you know." He took her chin making her look at his face.

"Yes. You are here..." The Princess said pensively, touching his cheek. Changing the tone of her voice she added, "Thanks, Kal, but I have to deal with it. We'll talk about it, I promise." And she caressed the Kryptonian's face. Trying to sound more cheerful, she said, "Come on, we have a great work out to do today, apprentice." And she began running.

Clark grabbed his spear and shield and followed her swiftly.

"You know, Kal? Your face and hands are almost completely healed."

"Yeah, thank goodness. In a day or two I'll be able to shave. I must look like a hobo," he said. Clark didn't want her to see him like this.

"Not at all! In fact, I'd like it and maybe you could keep it? It suits you. It makes you look so rugged. You seem right out of the pages of some classic Greek epic tale."

"Ha, ha, ha! Don't make me laugh! I need to take a breath!" A hint of a blush crossed his face.

"Listen, here's an idea: the main character is called 'Kalos Os Theós'. The hero is trying to get home after being marooned on a desert island by an angry witch, with no ship to cross the great black seas. We can call the tale 'Kaliana,'" said the Princess, rather enthusiastically, even though she omitted to say that the name she chose meant 'Beautiful, as a god'.

"Wow! Did you come with this just now, 'Homera'?" he teased.

"I was just pitching the idea to our resident writer, Mr. Clark Kent, reporter extraordinaire," Diana counterattacked. "Come to think of it, it sounds a lot like 'Robinson Crusoe'. But if you call me 'Friday', you're a dead man." The Amazon gave him her best menacing glare. "By the way, Kal, may I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"I thought you might write a journal of our staying here, why didn't you?" she asked.

"To tell you the truth," he responded, "at first I was certain that we won't be here for too long, so I saw no need. Then I thought of it, but I got so engaged in all the daily labors, that I just simply forgot, and, at the end of the day, was too tired to push a pen. This being a regular mortal is tiresome, let me tell you."

"I see," the Amazon responded. Clark noticed a little disappointment in her voice, and he really wanted an excuse to start writing again, so he quickly added.

"But this conversation may be the kick-start I needed to write…wait for it… 'Kaliana's Journal'! No, not the story of Kalos, but ours: Kal and Diana, 'Kal-iana'. See?" he said with a big grin.

"Sounds awful. It seems those celebrity couples combined names like 'Brangelina' or 'Beniffer'. And your name comes first because…?" she teased.

"Hey! You came with the name, I just took advantage of it. I can make you the hero, if you like. Besides, I will be writing the journal, so I can title it as I please. You must admit that 'Diakal', 'Diaclark' or, even worst, 'Dianal' sound terrible," Clark said.

Diana let out a crystalline laugh. "Oh, Gods, no, please! I leave the naming to you." And she added, "And there's nothing 'regular' about you, you know?"

"Excuse me…?" the Kryptonian asked.

"You said you are now a 'regular mortal'. You may have lost your gifts momentarily, but you are still an extraordinary being. And one more thing: the beard stays," she decreed.

"O-kay, boss…In fact, I was a little worried I would have to use Pa's razor (Clark always took with him Jonathan Kent's razor and Marta's engagement ring on all his journeys, on and off world, to have them always with him), it's been almost a decade since I last used one. You know, my heat vision…," he answered, doing a gesture with his hand all over the beard.

Diana's lips stretched in a pleased smile. After they talked, her mood improved greatly. _"Kal always finds a way to cheer me up." _The Princess let him run silently for a while to pace his breathing. Another twenty minutes later she looked at her watch.

"Okay, we're stopping now. How do you feel?" She put her middle and forefinger on his carotid artery while checking the watch to control his heart rate.

"I'm fine. A little agitated. We went further this time, didn't we?" Clark answered.

"Good observation. Today you completed a total of eight miles in less than forty minutes. We started 10 days ago with three and a half, I'd say your progress is great. Your heart rate is just a little above normal, which is excellent. The average Amazon runs a total of 25 km a day, that's about fifteen and a half miles. Since your physical levels of strength and resistance are similar to those of any of my sisters, I think you shouldn't have any problem reaching that mark, or even surpassing it. Now, drop and give me fifty!" Diana ordered.

"Yes, sir, Drill Sergeant, sir!" When Clark got to the ground, putting his arms in a pushing position, he thought "Piece of cake. Pffff.!" Suddenly he felt the weight of the Amazon Princess sitting on his back. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Giving you a bit of a challenge. One…come on, you've heard me: one…" Diana's voice sounded amused.

"Daaamn!" said the Kryptonian with clenched teeth, pushing up. "You're heavier than you look, big girl!"

"All muscles, baby! And I'm tall, not 'big'." She slapped his butt. "Two…" The Princess was really enjoying herself.

"Knock it off!" The Man of Steel made a lot of complaining noises, but he completed the fifty push-ups. Feeling the warmth of her lower body in contact with his, made him distract from the effort. Abs, biceps and every muscular group got its share of workout. Meanwhile, the Amazon was doing her sword practice. Clark was watching her move almost hypnotized by the incredible grace of her 'dance'.

"I'm certain you must be a hell of a dancer, Di."

Without losing focus, she said, "I manage my way on the dance floor. On the Island my sisters and I used to dance for festivals and celebrations. And mostly for pleasure, to tell you the truth. I did some research, when I came to Man's World and, comparing notes and archive files with those of my homeland, I found out that the more skilled the warrior, the best dancer he or she was, or vice-versa. For instance, did you know that Bruce Lee won several dancing competitions? Muhammad Ali was also a terrific dancer."

"I could have told you that just by seeing the man on a ring. His feet had wings," said Clark.

"True. I've seen videos. Bruce is also a very skilled dancer."

"When did you ever have the chance to see him dance?" he asked in astonishment.

"At the benefit galas he used to sponsor at Wayne Manor, of course. How come you've never been in one?" she asked back.

"Bruce's civilian activities are the times I'm the most busy, watching over Gotham as well as my other duties. I know his associates can take care of it perfectly, but he himself asked me to watch over them too, and only intervene when they are over their heads. To this day, I've never had to. Those guys are amazingly capable, but, as much as Bruce trusts in their training, he'll never forgive himself if Jason's tragedy happens ever again. This journey to Almerac and being this much time away from home, had him worried sick," Clark answered.

"I understand. Anyway, the thing with dancing is that it has a lot to do with coordination and rhythm, and the ability to adapt to different paces. You just gave me an idea: I'm incorporating dancing to our little training sessions." Diana's face brighten up. "How clumsy are you moves, Kal?"

"Actually," the Kryptonian said, "I'm not half bad. Ma made a point to make her son someone who could move to the music without stepping over every girl's feet. It embarrassed me terribly, but, thanks to her, I no longer have two left feet. But…how you think we're doing it without music?"

"Hmmm. I can sing a tune or two. You said I do it pretty fine," she tentatively said.

"You sing wonderfully, Di. I'm inclined to go along with it just to hear your beautiful voice. Okay. You're on. My suggestion is to do it at night, during or instead of our guitar and singing sessions, then we'll have one more enjoyable activity to do after dinner," he proposed.

"Alright!" She clapped her hands. "We'll make Terpsichore proud! You won't believe it, but I missed a lot my dancing!" Her joy was evident.

"It will be a great honor and a pleasure for me to play the guitar for you to dance," Clark said. "So, deal?"

"Deal!"

After they agreed on doing it, Diana considered it time for the actual combat lessons. She threw him his spear. "Now, prepare yourself." Her magical sword was too much for Clark's 'bo', so she put it aside, grabbing the other bar of estranium. The Amazon assumed the attacking position. "Now, as I told you: 1,2,3,4!" Each count was a strike which the Kryptonian must block. "Good. Now, attack: up, down, left, right!" The bars clashed with loud, clanking noises. Diana was pleasantly surprised that she only had to give the instructions once, Clark's eidetic memory remembered them for ever. "I'm going random now, without warning, and…"

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

"Again!" Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! "Excellent!"

She thought she'd catch him off guard. She dropped to the ground in a full split, leg sweeping Clark to the ground with her 'bo'. The Man of Tomorrow fell with a sonorous 'thump!'

"Oomph! You're not playing nice!" he complained.

"Expect anything, especially the unexpected, Kal. Real life combat has no rules but to be the victor," she warned. Turning her back to him, Diana move two steps away.

"_Oh, yeah?"_ Clark thought to himself. Springing to his feet, his intention was trying to sucker-punch her from behind. At his actual level of strength he wouldn't cause much damage to her.

The Amazon quickly turned, catching his bar with both hands. She fell to her back, dragging him down and then throwing him over with her legs. Without letting go, she rolled over her head and ended sitting on his chest, pushing the bar on his throat.

"Ah, ah,ah! Naughty, naughty boy! Did you really think you can catch a daughter of Themyscira by surprise?" she said.

"It was worth a try. Besides," Clark took a purposefully impudent look at her cleavage, "the view from here is rewarding enough."

"What…?" Diana's face turned red and with her crossed arms she tried to cover her bosom. With his own arms free, the Kryptonian suddenly sat up, pushing her off his chest. The Amazon hit the ground with her butt in a rather ungracious manner. She gave him a huffy look, swatting away the hand he extended to help her up.

"That was…! You cheating…! KAL!" her face was red, still.

"Sorry, Princess. I had to improvise. 'No rules in real life combat', remember?" he said with a grin on his face.

"You'll pay for this. Oh, yes, you will," she promised. "And don't call me 'Princess'!"

"Uh-oh! A pissed Amazon…I guess I'm in trouble," he joked.

With her coldest smirk, she said, "You have no idea, funny boy"

They switched to unarmed combat. Contrary to her promise, Diana went somewhat easy on him. She took her vengeance when it came to helping Clark to extend the reach of his legs, to make his kicks higher and more powerful. The Kryptonian stood with his back against a tree and she pushed up one leg at a time to stretch the joints.

"Ow-ow-ow, uncle! Uncle! Stop!" he snarled.

"What? Not so funny now, are we?" The Princes gloated "Do not bend the knee. Good. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to do 'grande jeté'!"

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Planet Fred – 2 miles to the Fortress of Solely Two - 10:40 A.M.

Coming back from training to their quarters, Clark began to talk.

"Wow! Today's session was intense! I'm sore all over. It looks like you had some steam to let out, didn't you?"

"Hmmm. In a way, yes. I'm sorry if I went too hard on you." Diana was looking at her own feet as she walked.

"Not at all. I had…no: I HAVE some issues of my own as well. It has to do with the lost of my powers." _And having you in this place, all by ourselves, and not being able to do or say anything because of it,_ he thought.

"Yes, that's the main of my concerns as well." And she added, "Kal…I…we have to talk about it."

"I think we do, too. Only not just yet. I have to figure out how I really feel about it myself," said the Kryptonian.

Diana passed her arm over his shoulders and he rounded her small waist with his. They walked like this in silence the rest of their way back. They were both wishfully looking at their shadow's subtle double edge.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you all for the reviews.**

**Special thanks, as always, to Hellacre for her wonderful editing.**

**Chapter 17** – And I can't get it out of my head.

**Day 19 **

Planet Earth's Orbit – Watchtower, Justice League Headquarters - 22,300 miles above the surface – 9 A.M. GMT

Shayera stood beside the stasis-chamber containing Katar's unconscious body. For the last eight days she couldn't stay away from him, except when exhaustion claimed her. And, even so, she found ways to stay close, like sleeping on a stretcher in the infirmary.

An explosive device had been implanted inside his skull, to be more precise, in the brain itself, deep in the frontal lobe of the right hemisphere, most probably by Darkseid allies. Finally, after much debate in what would be the best way to extract it from Katar's head, a decision has been made.

"_Dr. Palmer volunteered to get inside to remove the bomb manually, but we can't be sure that manipulating it won't trigger the explosion," said Dr. Light, Kimiyo Hoshi, "John Henry devised a way to aim a teleportation beam narrow enough to focus on the rice grain sized explosive and teleport it to outer space, far from the station, in case it goes off. At 5__ K, which is the operational temperature of the cryo-chamber, it's highly unlikely the beam would set the detonation off, but, just in case, we will do the procedure in a Scientific Javelin at a few kilometers from here. Safety measures, you know. Steel and Ray volunteered to do it themselves…"_

"_I'll be there as well," said Shayera, in a tone that stated she wouldn't take a 'no' for an answer. _

_Still, Dr. Light had to say,"Shay, there's no need for you to…"_

"_Kimi: I'll be there, period." Hawkgirl words were final._

And here she was, waiting for the two scientists to get things ready on board the Javelin to begin the operation. John Henry was in full armor to protect him in case of an explosion, the Atom and Hawkgirl were to put themselves inside a protective pod when the beam was fired.

"You don't have to do this, Shay" said Steel standing behind her.

Without turning, Shayera said, "I HAVE to be here, John. This man's spirit and mine are connected. I feel that if I stay close to him, my soul will call upon his and he will return to me. It may sound crazy to a scientific mind like yours but…"

"A good scientist is not immune to the power of feelings. I understand you completely, as I understand a person who holds the hand of a beloved one in a coma, KNOWING, in spite of what physicians might say that the patient can feel the warm touch of love calling him or her back." John Henry looked at her reflection on the stasis pod glass. Shayera turned, facing the large man's frame. Ignoring the cold metal armor, she hugged him.

"Thank you. I know you and Ray will do everything in your power. I can assure you that Katar is innocent of these machinations, and he is a victim as much as the delegates would have been." And, looking up to Steel's face with a pleading expression, "This operation…will it cause any harm to his brain?"

"The beam will be pin pointed exclusively to the small device. The surrounding tissue, being frozen, will not suffer any collateral damage,"said John Henry.

"Hawkman may be feeling a splitting headache upon waking, though," said Ray Palmer, growing to normal size as he came out of the circuit panel, after verifying everything was okay, "but nothing permanent."

"Hawkman?" Shayera took an amazed look at the doctor.

"Oops! Sorry. We needed a code name to refer to the patient during the procedure, we came with nothing better than that, you know…being you 'Hawkgirl', it sounded proper to call him 'Hawkman'." The Atom rubbed his nape, embarrassed.

"It's okay. I think it is appropriate," said Hawkgirl, "he most probably would laugh at it."

"Glad to hear it." Turning to Steel, the Atom said, "John, we're ready to begin."

"Good" pressing the communicator button, John called "Steel to Dr. Light. Come in, please"

"It's a secure line, John, you can call me by my name," responded Kimiyo.

"Right. We are ready, Kimi. Are your scanners reading his vitals?" he asked.

"Hardly anything to read in his stasis condition, but everything looks as it should. I have my finger over the 'abort' button just in case," said Dr. Light.

"Okay, people, let's do this!" John announced.

Shayera couldn't help but to look at the stasis pod with a worried expression. John saw her.

"It all will be fine, I promise. This will just take a second. Now, go inside the pod. I have this." He reassured her flexing his fingers inside the metal gauntlets and lowering the mask of his suit. Hawkgirl nodded and got into the protective chamber.

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Almerac - City of Potentoris – Royal Palace

Hour of Tarin

The three Leaguers were waiting outside the Throne Hall to be summoned.

_The peace treaty had been signed four days ago. No other incident was registered after they took Katar out of the Ancestral Hall. A lot of explaining had to be made to both delegations and the Queen. Thanagarians weren't happy about one of their officers being imprisoned under suspicion of carrying a bomb; they sent a specialist to verify the truth of the League member's allegations. J'onn took her to the Javelin, where he showed the winged woman a live scanning of Katar's head with the tiny explosive inside._

_After that, Shayera and Katar were authorized to leave, by her request, to get the medical attention he required. The Thanagarians wanted to move him to their own planet, but an investigation was pending, and the Commander's person was evidence. Shayera convinced Adam to get clearance to transport them to Earth using Rannian technology. Z-beamed by Adam Strange to the Justice League satellite to investigate and remove, if possible, the device from the Thanagarian's head, Hawkgirl would no longer be part of the Almerac mission. She would, nevertheless, continue investigating Darkseid's involvement in the attacks to the conference._

_Rannians showed skepticism about their historic rival's innocence, in spite of the evidence presented by John Stewart and Zatana. It was necessary for the Queen to intervene to demonstrate how futile it would be for Thanagar to sabotage the peace talks. Frankly, both sides and Almerac would've been seriously harmed by this. Not to mention the security of the whole sector. Four more days of negotiations were needed to finally get the delegates to sign the treaty. In light of the past events, all the involved members and their personnel agreed to partially renounce their diplomatic immunity and allow a search on their persons before entering the conference room as well as the delegations' accommodations, to avoid any other incident._

Maxima couldn't be happier: the treaty they signed was mostly the one presented by her government, with a few modifications, which allowed Almerac, meaning her, to call the shots in case of an invasion to the quadrant. Of equal importance to her personally, the peace negotiations were over, so those annoying pests from the Justice League would leave Almerac immediately. That was why they were waiting outside the Throne Hall for her to let them in.

"_This will be quick: I thank them for their valuable services and send them off, on their way,"_ thought the Queen "Hour Page! Time!" she ordered.

"Five crons past the hour of Tarin, Exalted One"

"Lord Brega! Call the League people in!" the ruler voiced.

"At once, Exalted One." After the servants opened the doors, "Justice League members, the Exalted One is ready to see you. You may enter."

With her best smile and sweetest voice, Maxima said "Most dear, dear friends, approach! How can We express our gratitude for your invaluable help!" John and Zatanna exchanged an incredulous look and the Martian's face remained void of all expression as the Queen continued, "Thanks to your efforts the Peace Conference was a complete success. Our quadrant is, finally, at peace and secure, and a potentially disastrous situation was averted! Tonight at the Closing Ceremony a toast shall be made in your honor! Tomorrow, upon your departure to your system, you will receive the Order of Setus, which is the highest decoration this Queendom bestows to Off Worlders! This calls for a celebration! Mead, Page! Four goblets!"

The page gave them a cup for each one. Unable to refuse, the League members rose their glasses with the Queen. J'onn, GL and Zatanna took a brief sip from their cups. Maxima bottomed up hers and threw it against a wall. The ruler was exultant.

"So. Off you go, now! We'll see you tonight at the Closing Gala!" Looking disapprovingly to the sorceress, she added "Dress appropriately!"

Zatanna was about to snap at the Queen when J'onn telepathically ordered her to stay down.

"Exalted One, if I may?" the Manhunter said to Maxima.

"Speak your mind, my friend." She thought to herself, _'Now what?!'_

"Unfortunately, we are unable to leave just yet. There are two investigations in progress, both of the utmost importance. What happened to the Trinity team, and, I think you would agree with us on this one, how deep is Darkseid's reach inside the sector's affairs. We don't believe we've heard the last of him."

Maxima's mouth corners dropped suddenly. "I thought with Lord Suupra's suicide that matter was settled!"

"That explains the sabotage to your security net, but not the attempt to detonate a bomb inside the conference room. We are of the idea that there still is someone alive on this Planet who is responsible of, if not of both, at least one of the attacks." And he added, "Would you risk having one of Darkseid's minions at large somewhere in the sector? Respectfully we request that you close all the routes, in and out of Almerac."

"But that would mean…," the Queen began.

"Yes, Exalted One. The delegations won't be able to return to their respective worlds," said the Martian. "But considering the infiltrator could be among them, the diplomatic cost is a small price to pay…"

"I don't have to pay any price! I just finished a series of negotiations that took their toll in time and effort! I'm not going to humiliate our new allies…!" Her royal 'We' was slipping once again.

J'onn looked at his two colleagues. Both Zee and GL nodded in approval. "Maxima! Listen to me, and listen very carefully! We have to contain the situation here on Almerac; we cannot risk more attempts in the sector or more manipulations from Darkseid to poison one world against the other. Our only chance is to cut the infiltration here and now, if we want to stop that despot's plans definitely. If you don't understand this, the Justice League will be forced to summon a council of worlds to form an alliance against Darkseid, and YOU will be the one who'll have to explain to them how you had the chance to kill the beast at birth, and did nothing about it!"

Maxima's face was distorted by an outraged scowl. _'The nerve, the audacity of this alien to speak to me like that in my own court!'_ she thought. Floating down the steps in front of her throne, she stopped right in front of the Manhunter's face, fixing her amber eyes in his red ones. "How dare you! I can have you killed for this. You and your little League friends! I am the Queen of all you see!"

J'onn rose from the ground to put himself at her level, holding her gaze. "Yes, you might, but it will cost you dearly, in personnel and property. We Leaguers don't go down easily."

Lantern and Zatanna put themselves at both sides of the Martian in a fighting stance "Then you will be alone when your recently acquired allies turn against you, having Darkseid men managed to change their minds with lies, intimidation, bribery, manipulation and terrorism because YOU let them escape." His tone was ice cold. "You know it is true, and time is a luxury we don't have. You've seen it happen before. When that happens, remember this moment. The moment when you had the chance to turn the scales in everybody's favor, and you refused it because you are too proud and too stupid to admit you need help."

Maxima's right fist flashed in J'onn's face direction. The Manhunter caught it midflight in his big left hand. Her other hand shot as well, only to end inside the green cage of his right hand fingers.

"Bastard! You are…too…strong! Let go me!" Unable to get her extremities lose, she shot a psionic blast to his mind, which he deflected with one of his own. A guard aimed his weapon towards the Martian, but Zatanna made his and all the others' helmets turn backwards, obstructing their vision.

"Stemleh etator!"

Green Lantern created a lasso with his ring, tying all the guards' weapons together and pulling them far beyond their reach. Meanwhile, the Queen's and J'onn's minds and strength struggle ended with her shouting, "Enough! Let's talk!"

Both of them dropped to the floor. Putting herself together, Maxima returned to her throne, trying to pick up the pieces of her dignity. She'd never confronted the Martian Manhunter before; she knew his power levels were comparable to Kal-El's, but she didn't expect this.

Rubbing her aching knuckles and shooting daggers from her eyes, the ruler said, "We will consider your request. There may be some merit to it. As long as the safety of the sector is compromised, we can't dismiss any possibility. You'll have Our answer at the reception, tonight." Looking again at Zatanna from head to toe, "Remember it is a _GALA_!"

"Why you…!" Zee couldn't finish. John pulled her from her arm and dragged her towards the doors.

"Thank you, Exalted One," J'onn said in a polite tone, taking a bow. "That's all we're asking." And he turned to leave.

"Martian!" Maxima called him. Then softening her tone, "J'onn. I wish you'll make me the honor of having lunch with me tomorrow. I have things to discuss with you…alone."

Looking back at her, the Manhunter said, somewhat confused, "Of course, Exalted One."

"Maxima," she corrected him.

"Maxima. It will be my honor." J'onn took another bow and quickly faced the doors so she didn't notice his puzzled expression.

Green Lantern and Zatanna were already outside.

"Can you believe that harpy?!" said an indignant sorceress "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Don't look at me," John defended himself. "I always thought that a top hat and, specially, fishnets are always trendy. Ask Dinah."

"Don't get cute, Lantern. You don't want to see my ugly side." J'onn was approaching them, "and what's with his face?" Zee pointed at the Martian.

"J'onn," asked GL, "is something the matter? You look positively astounded."

"Maxima invited me to have lunch tomorrow with her. Alone," said the Manhunter, almost whispering.

"Oh, boy!" mused GL, shaking his head.

"Oh, crap!" added Zatanna.

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Planet Earth's Orbit – Scientific Javelin JL024, 25 miles from Watchtower – 10:11 Hs. A.M. GMT

Micrometric adjustment screws were meticulously turned by Dr. Palmer in order to focus the teleporter beam emitting head exactly on the bomb. This was a task that required the human hand, because of the subtlety of the procedure.

A green light and a beep on the panel indicated the precision of the positioning.

"Okay, John. Shoot it!" he said through the intercom. He looked at Shayera by his side, and corrected himself, "Er…I mean, start the teleportation."

Irons rolled his eyes. Focusing again on the task at hand, he pressed the blue button with the word 'ON' on it. One tenth of a second later, Kimiyo's voice came out of the speakers, "It's gone! The implant has been removed! Good work, people!"

The Atom and Shayera came out of the protective pod. Palmer went to the electronic microscope scanning the operation area.

After a minute he looked at Shayera saying, "No tissue damage! The procedure was successful!" The red headed woman let out the air she had being holding. Ray held up his hand, and Hawkgirl gave him a 'Hi-Five' smiling.

"You guys are the be…," began Shayera.

A flash of light entered through the starboard porthole, and a second later the Javelin was shook by the blast wave.

John Henry uncovered his face and checked the instruments. "Detonation took place at the destination point of teleportation, located 55 miles from origin, starboard side. Estimated magnitude of blast: 23 MTs." A whistle escaped his lips. "Pretty bad boy for its size we had there! Deflectors holding."

"Most probably anti-matter based kind of bomb," added Dr. Palmer.

After Shayera regained her footing, she moved to the stasis pod to check its integrity. The panels said it was in perfect condition. Staring at Katar's peaceful expression she put her hand on the crystal. A single tear rolled from her eye. She went to John Henry and Ray and kissed them both on the cheek.

"As I was saying: you guys are the best! Thank you!"

"Just doing our jobs," said Palmer.

"Bullshit! She's right: we're the best!" joked John Henry, letting out a sonorous laugh, to which the others followed.

"Let's take our patient, a.k.a.: Hawkman, back to the Infirmary, to begin the reviving process," said Ray, placing a hand on Hawkgirl's shoulder.

Two hours and a half later Katar was lying on a bed at the Infirmary. Shayera was sitting on a chair besides the bed, waiting for him to wake up. After the strong emotions of the morning's events, she got to relax a bit and was slowly slipping in and out consciousness, her head falling on her chest and suddenly rising, when she tried to stay awake. Finally she appeared to have surrendered to slumber but a larger hand grabbed her own.

"Ma…Magpie?" Katar was regaining consciousness, and saw her sitting next to him.

"Peacock! You're awake, blessed Haani!" Hawkgirl pressed the button to call the nurse, and then she kneeled by the bed, putting her hands on his cheeks.

"Where am I? What happ…the conference! Anything happen with the conference? Are you alright, Shay?" He grabbed her by the shoulders, sitting up and checking there were no injuries on her body. Suddenly, he felt as if a knife was stuck into his head.

"Easy. Easy, big boy." She helped him back down. "Everything is alright. The Peace Negotiations are over. For what the Triad team told us, they were successful. A treaty was signed, and our world, as well as the others, is safe. Relax."

"What am I doing here? WHERE is here?" the Commander asked massaging his temples, "What happened, Magpie"

"You are in the Justice League Headquarters medical facility. Somehow an explosive device was implanted in your head. We had to knock you down, froze you and extract the bomb, which we already did. I've been told the headaches will eventually subside," the woman informed him.

"You brought me here?" he asked. She nodded.

"That was a very stupid thing to do! What if I really am a traitor? What if I still plan to destroy this building? Shay, given the current circumstances you can't trust anyone, not even me!" he snapped at her.

"Relax. First: I trust you implicitly. Second:you were in stasis until the last hour. Third:you are under surveillance constantly, and, even though I know you can take down an army, we don't need an army…" She whistled through her teeth and a seven foot tall, blue and gold armor clad and very beautiful woman showed, occupying most of the door's frame, "Fourth: we have Barda. BIG Barda, if you like. You can see why."

"Everything okay, Birdie?" Barda asked

Shayera waved her hand to the Apokoliptian woman. "All good here; just putting our patient's mind at ease about our security measures. Thank you, Biggie."

"Humm. Any time. So this is him? He doesn't look half bad. Hello, Commander." Katar rose a hand as a way of salutation. He was clearly impressed by the power emanating from this woman. Barda was one of the few that went easy on Shayera right after the Thanagarian invasion, because, being from Apokolips herself, she also had problems of trust within the League. Barda stepped aside to let the medical team get in.

After examining Katar, Dr. Hoshi said to them, "Everything is okay. We will have you under observation only two more days, just for safety, but your vital readings look excellent. Take one of these every two hours to calm the headaches." After that, she left, followed by her team.

"Magpie: who of the Leaguers took me down? Just curious, you know. Warriors pride and all that," the Commander asked.

Almost whispering and looking to the other way, she said "I did…"

"Sorry, I can't hear you. Who?"

"I did! Okay? I sucker-stroke you from behind with my mace!" she repeated in a louder voice. "I'm sorry."

The Thanagarian male let go a laugh that made him take his hands to his head in pain. "That's my girl! I'm so glad it was you!" They both shared a laughing moment.

"Sooo. Now that you checked our security, and the doctors checked your sorry (but pretty) ass," the red head teased, "there's one thing I've been dying to do for many days now." She leaned forward and captured his lips with hers, in a passionate kiss, to which he responded accordingly. When they parted the kiss, they both were smiling, looking at each other in the eye.

All of the sudden, Katar's smile dropped and looked at her wide eyed.

"What is it, Peacock? You are scaring me," said Hawkgirl with a desperate expression.

He responded "I…I can't feel you in my head anymore! The images we used to share are gone!"


	18. Chapter 18

**This one came a little sooner. Don't get used to it, though. Thanks for the reviews.**

**The wonderful Hellacre made this readable. Thank you.**

**Chapter 18** **– Beautiful day.**

**Day 25**

Planet Fred – Exosphere - 39,000 Km/24,375 miles above surface - 11 A.M.

Diana had only sixteen minutes left to finish comb the portion of the surrounding ring due for today, looking for their homing beacon.

"Another fruitless search," she thought a little discouraged. Nevertheless, her explorations were always thorough. She owed that to herself and, especially, to Clark. _"We are getting out of here, Kal, I promise."_

Truth be told, they were having a really nice break here on planet Fred, thought the Amazon, obscured only by two unavoidable and tragic items: first and foremost, Bruce's time was limited. Eventually, in less than a thousand days, the batteries feeding the stasis pod would run out of juice and, given his critical condition, he'd most probably die. They checked twice a day the perfect functioning of the machine keeping Batman alive, but there weren't any guaranties that an incident couldn't change that and jeopardize their friend's life. Diana smiled thinking their always perfectionist comrade would be proud of all they've accomplished so far. Of course, he would have done things better (he usually thinks that) but, at the end of the day, all three of them would have a laugh when he conceded they were doing well enough.

"_We miss you, you brooding pain in the butt,"_ she admitted to herself.

Second was the need for Kal to recover his powers. He was doing pretty fine without them and even though he wasn't defined by his superhuman condition, they were part of his life and person for the last ten years or so.

When Zeus took her abilities away, Diana felt blind and deaf at first, as if the world was replaced by a darker, uninteresting place void of colors and music. She could empathize with her lov…FRIEND. She could see that all the work he immersed himself into was just a way to avoid thinking about it.

Then, there was the matter of her feelings towards him. Deep in her heart, the Amazon knew they were reciprocated, but something most probably the same thing that was stopping her, was holding him back. The situation became tenser with each passing day. The training sessions, with all that physical contact, let them both flustered and frustrated. They will have to talk about it, and Diana decided that today was as good a day as any to do it. No more waiting. No more 'Red Sun' excuses.

The Princess moved her eyes in the binary stars systems' direction covering them with her hand. Even with her gifts, looking at a sun directly in the vacuum of space, without the filter of an atmosphere, could hurt her eyes, not permanently, but enough to cause her several inconveniencies. From this altitude, thousand of miles above the planet, the white dwarf wasn't more visible than from the ground point of view since the position relative to the stars was basically the same.

"_When you get to be uncovered by your larger sister, will it help Kal, I wonder? Will it be more prejudicial than helpful? I wish I have the answer. We'll just have to wait and see." _And she added,_ "Do you have a denomination? A name, like Betelgeuse, Sirius, Sol, Canopus, or even Alpha Centaury? How shall we call you, oh, mighty sisters waltzing in this infinite black ballroom? I know! I'll name you two after the dysfunctional sisters from the Chinese story, antecedent of the Cinderella fairy tale! You, big red, from now on will be 'Ye Xian', and you, little glutton, 'Jun-Li'. Pleasure to meet you, lovely sisters, I…"_

Suddenly Diana saw with the corner of her eye something moving fast towards the planet. Without thinking twice she flew to it at full speed. The moving object's angle made it avoid crossing the debris ring. Now the Amazon was less than two hundred miles and could see it clearly.

"_Blessed Gaea! A ship! A SHIP!"_ All kinds of wishful thoughts filled her head as she approached the vehicle, the most prominent was, _"We are saved, Kal, we are saved!"_

The vessel was no bigger than a Javelin, and seemed to have taken serious damage. The markings on the hull were familiar to the Princess. _"It appears to be from Almerac. Oh, Maxima, how I wish you were on board!"_ She felt her Lasso being pulled twice. Checking her watch she saw there were ten more minutes before she has to go down.

Fortunately, the speed at which the ship was falling to the planet wasn't nearly as fast as the one the Javelin in which they were traveling was moving when she tried to stop it from crashing onto Fred. Once again she took position at the bow and began to push it back to make it decrease in speed. While doing it she looked at the cockpit and saw only one crew member, who apparently was unconscious

"_Hold on, Almerachian, I've got you!"_ This time the ship wasn't purposely accelerated to reach the planet before some of the occupants perish. The Amazon deduced that it was probably adrift and was attracted by the gravitational pull of Planet Fred. Now Diana was in control, and she decided where she wanted it to land, which was three miles south of the Fortress, just in case it happens to explode, due to the heavy damage.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Planet Fred – Fields nearby the Fortress of Solely Two – 10:25 Hs. A.M.

Clark was digging a ditch all the way from the pond to irrigate the orchard and crops he finally began to cultivate so they could grow their own food. Jonathan's teachings at work at their fullest. Nobody would say this Kent didn't know the family trade.

Diana had made a hat out of straw for him. She intended it as a joke for the "farmer boy", but now he found it quite useful. He took it off to wipe his sweaty forehead. He looked at Argos, who has been following him from the pond, curious at what he was doing.

"What do you think, boy?" Clark said to the giant. "Will it be alright for irrigating two acres of crops and vegetables?"

Argos looked at him blankly, and the Kryptonian continued, "Yeah, you're probably right; I'll have to dig it twice as wide for it to be enough. Oh, well, I better get started again, there's no point on postponing what you'll have to do anyway, as Pa used to say." He patted Argos side and they both moved back to the pond again. "We don't wanna disappoint our Lady, do we? Oh, no. She wouldn't complain, of course, you know. She never does. That's who she is.

But it's up to us," he point his finger at Argos an, then, himself, "to keep her comfy, because she's here because of us…well, ME. I know what you're thinking," Argos face remained inexpressive, "I should tell her I've been crazy about her for a long time now…"

(As Diana was sweeping the ring in search for the beacon, he had her Lasso wrapped around his waist).

"You, know, it's complicated. I don't want her to think she needs to take care of me, to add another burden to her shoulders already. Yeah…I may sound like a prideful prick to you, but I used to be her equal, now I'm just a charity case…No, she didn't say it, she would never do that, and I love her more because of it, but it's the truth, and…" He felt a pull on the lasso, and saw it pointing to a different direction. "Did you see that, boy? What the hell is happening up there? I wish I can go up there with her, damn red sun!" He pulled the Lasso twice to get her attention…nothing. "Come on, girl! Come down, please!" he begged. The tension on the golden rope ceded, but it began to fall south of their location. "Come on, boy!" Clark started running following the Lasso as fast as his legs allowed him. Argos was a little ahead of him, causing the ground to shake with every step.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Planet Fred - Outskirts of the forest surrounding the Fortress – 11:15 Hs. A.M.

Diana put gently the vessel on the ground, and immediately went to the command cabin to see the pilot. She found him strapped to one of the front seats, unconscious. A wound could be seen on the right side of his abdomen. Diana removed carefully the safety belt and laid him on the floor. When the Amazon took off his helmet, the pilot opened his eyes.

"A…a Messenger of Kloss…?" _He's mistaking me for an angel,_Diana thought.

"Mer…ciful spirit, he…help me, pl…ease." His voice was little more than a whisper.

"My name is Diana. What's yours? Who did this to you?" The Amazon saw no point in correcting his mistake. Time was essential. As she was speaking she looked at the wound. The ascending colon and the right kidney were shattered, and scorch marks and burned flesh were visible all around the wound.

'_A blaster'_ thought the Princess. There was nothing she could do to help. "What's your name? What happened?" she repeated, holding the man's head on her lap and pressing the wound trying to contain the blood pouring out of it, knowing it was too late.

"Cla…vius lieut..lieutnt…p…pirates took ship…cap…captin dead…I e…escape…shot." Now he was struggling to breathe. He began to ramble, "Justice Leag…explosion…must…must find. Inform Quee…secret." He tried to raise his head. "Blessed Spirit, he…help…" His head fell back as death claimed his body. Diana closed his eyes and mouth. A bitter taste always invaded her mouth at the sight of death. "Mission accomplished, Lieutenant Clavius: you've found us," she confirmed gravely.

"Kloss, take good care of this man's spirit," she said, lowering her head. After a respectful moment, she put the pilot's body on the floor and went to search the rest of the ship. There was nobody else. The interior bulkheads had blast marks all over them.

"Quite a fight took place in here," Diana muttered.

When Argos and Clark arrived at the edge of the forest they saw the Almerachy scout ship but no sign of Diana. He began to shout, "Diana! Diana, where are you?!"

"In here!" she answered, and she came out holding in her arms the lifeless body of the pilot.

"Oh, god! Are you alright!" Clark let out a relieved sigh. "What happened? Who is this?"

Diana, once again, placed the body on the ground. "For what the pilot told me before passing away, this ship was under direct orders of the Almerachy government to find us, and was attacked by pirates. This poor soul managed to escape, but was fatally wounded by a blaster shot. I don't understand, Kal. If Maxima wanted us dead, why would she send a mission to find us?"

"I think, as the explosion took place many light years before the intended site, her men didn't find our remains where she knew they would be, she had to send a scout crew to make sure of our fate," asseverated the Kryptonian "Apparently, it didn't go well, so she's still unsure if we're dead or not."

"That could mean the League may be looking for us as well?" Diana beseeched.

"Hopefully, yes," he replied.

"We'll have to put this man to rest properly, and then take a good look to this ship. You think she will be able to fly?" asked the Princess.

"For the look of it, I'd say n…" he looked at her hopeful expression, and didn't have the courage to burst her bubble, not yet, "…nothing until we revised it thoroughly. I'm going to bring a shovel to dig him a grave."

"Don't bother." With her own hands Diana dug in seconds a hole deep and large enough to accommodate the former lieutenant. Clark secretly wished he could have done the same. The Amazon saw that in his face and regretted being so impulsive. "Kal…I…"

"No, Di. I won't let you feel sorry for who you are. I'm okay…really. I'm not a child. There's no need for you to hide what you can do and/or if you feel alright doing it. I forbid you to change my friend Diana for whatever reason involving me." The man of tomorrow put his hands on her shoulders. "Now, let's deposit this man in his final residence, and say a word for his eternal rest."

So they did.

"Such a young man!" Diana lamented. "I hope the Universe grants your spirit another chance at life. In the mean time, have a peaceful rest. May this beautiful planet serve as a proper place for that interlude." The Almerachians believed in some kind of reincarnation, so Diana accommodated her words to honor that.

"So be it," voiced Clark.

After a respectful silent moment, they went to the vessel to have a good look at her. First of all, they need to make sure she wouldn't explode.

Diana checked the fuel levels. "Nothing. Tanks are depleted, not even the fumes. How are things back there?"

"No good news, I'm afraid. One of the engines is missing. The other two are damaged beyond repair; we can't even make one out of the two of them. I'm sorry." His voice sounded discouraged. Entering in the control cabin, where the Amazon was verifying the instruments, he noted, "What's with all these lights and whistles on the consoles? Where does the power come from?" Suddenly, an idea formed in his mind. "Come with me!" They went to the stern interiors. Diana opened the hatch to the engine room and they both got inside.

"Oh, ho,ho, ho!" A big grin appeared on Clarks face. "Do you see what I'm seeing, Di?" he asked.

"An electrical generator! Kal! Do you think…!" Her face became radiant.

"Let's not crack the champagne yet. Do me a favor: go outside and inspect the hull's integrity while I check the generator," he proposed.

The Amazon flew outside. Floating over the ship, she shouted, "Solar panels! On the wings there are solar panels! They are intact!" She swooped back inside.

"Miraculously, so are the generator and the storage batteries. Do you know what that means?"

And they both shouted at the same time, "WE HAVE ELECTRICITY!"

Laughing and screaming the castaways merged into an embrace.

In the heat of the moment, Clark cupped her face with both hands and kissed her mouth intensely. Conscious of what he had just done he pulled back, without breaking the embrace

"Di, I…I didn't mean to…you know. With all the excitement and all…I just…I'm sor…"

"Finish the word 'sorry' and you'll really, really be so." Her eyes where fixed on his and her tone didn't allowed any disavowal

"I…I…," he began.

"Shut up, Kal." The Amazon was the one to claim his mouth in an even deeper kiss now.

When they finally parted, they started speaking at the same time, again.

"I love y…"

"Sorry, you go first"

"No, you go first…" The Kryptonian held his hand up.

"I love you, Di. I've been in love with you since shortly after I met you. I've also been an idiot and a coward for not saying it before."

The Amazon eyes flooded. "I love you too, you idiot, and I regret not telling you when I was sure of my feelings. We both had our reasons, but they seem irrelevant right now, don't they?"

They continue kissing until they broke into a nervous laugh.

"Is it safe to assume we both forgave each other?" Clark asked.

Diana nodded, and then added "We will never, ever again hide our feelings from each other. Promise me."

"Never again, I promise," he emphasized.

The Amazon took a look at their clothes. "We are a mess!" she said. "You are covered in dirt and sweat, and look at me! Your suit was white, now it looks anything but!"

"Tell you what: you take this ship to our camp and place it in front of the Javelin. I have to go back with Argos, or the poor boy will be offended."

"Okay. I'll be waiting at the pond. Don't be long, Beloved." She winked an eye to him.

His heart was about to jump out of his chest. _"Beloved…!"_

He went to where Argos was waiting, nibbling leaves from a near by tree. The violet beast turned his head when he heard Clark coming back, letting out a high pitch yowl.

"Sorry, Argos. We had work to do," apologized Clark.

Argos sniffed the Kryptonian with curiosity. _"Black Flower?"_ he thought. He could smell her scent on the man.

"Grooowwl?" he asked Clark.

Noticing why their giant pet was so concerned, the former Man of Steel told him.

"Yeah. You see…em… Mommy and I have something to tell you," he joked, stroking the enormous head. "But first: can I ask you for a ride back to the pond, friend?" He climbed on Argos' back and they turned in the Fortress direction.

Minutes later, as they were approaching their destination, they could hear Diana's crystalline voice singing. Clark descended from Argos and, making a sign to his purple friend to keep silent, he sneaked towards the pond.

The Amazon was thighs deep into the water, with her back turned to him, singing out loud "Beautiful day", from U2. Holding up her arms and shaking her well shaped behind and occasionally kicking the water, causing little rainbows to form when the sunlight hit the splashed drops. She was wearing nothing but her "Bésame" white bikini she always used underneath the tight, Kryptonian armor.

Clark was mesmerized by the vision of her perfect body and tanned, olive skin, as well as the sound of her angelical voice. He found particularly lovely how she hummed the main riff in between strophes. She was clearly singing with her eyes closed. She looked so happy; he took a mental picture of this moment to treasure it forever.

"…a beautiful da-aay." She finished, tilting her head up.

"Bravo!" The Kryptonian walked into her clapping his hands. "Bravíssimo"

Diana turned facing him, instinctively trying to cover her body with her arms and hands, her eyes big as plates.

"The offer to form 'Diana and the Wonders' is still on, you know?" he teased.

Her surprised expression softened, and she stood straight with her arms akimbo. "How long have you been stalking me there?"

"Since the second refrain." He was slowly walking to meet her in the water kicking his shoes off, removing his T-shirt and jeans, leaving only his red boxers on. "And I wasn't stalking: I was appreciating your singing and…," after a meaningful pause, "…dancing"

"And…did you enjoy my singing?" She didn't move an inch in his direction; he would have to do all the work.

"Immensely. I was a little more moved by your dancing, though," he pointed.

"Only a little?" Now it was her turn to tease.

"A lot, in fact." He was only two feet from her now. He took the final step, clasping her hands with his, and with his mouth close to hers, but without touching.

"Did you like what you saw?" She was looking at his lips.

"M-hmm. Love your attire, by the way," he whispered.

"What? This old thing? It's nothing!" she whispered as well.

"It's very little, but it's not nothing. I remember how you look wearing nothing." Now he was looking at her full lips.

"I remember you too, you know. I…mmm.." He didn't let her finish. He captured her lips between his and put his arms around her. Diana abandoned herself to the kiss as well. She wanted to hold him tight, but then she remembered. Pulling back, breathing heavily, she observed, "Kal…I want to do this, you can't imagine how much, but it's too dangerous! How are we going to do it?"

They had crossed the line, and there was no turning back, he thought. It was true: there couldn't be actual intercourse, coitus, but that didn't mean they couldn't find a way around it. He has done it years ago, with Lana.

"There's a way, if you want it," he began,

"Anything. Tell me," she begged.

"I'll show you instead." Clark began to slip his hand under the lower part of her swimsuit, caressing her butt and around her sensitive zone. Diana began moaning and tried to get her hand under his boxer. He gently stopped her.

"The trick is to pleasure the other, but one of us at the time. One of us needs to be in control all the time. If we both get lost in our passion, the risk of causing harm, to me, in this case will become a fact. You relax yourself and let me do. I'll tell you if you are holding or squeezing me too tight. Come, let's move to the banks." He grabbed her hand and they both seated beside the water. He began kissing her again and groping her body, making her lay on her back.

"Do you trust me, my love?" Hearing him calling her 'my love' disarmed all her defenses. Unable to speak, she nodded.

Slowly, he removed her skimpy swimsuit, caressing and kissing his way down her sculptural anatomy. Diana was dubious at first, but then she relaxed and let herself enjoy his ministrations. The proactive Amazon found it hard to assume the passive role, but the sensations he was awakening in her body with his expert hands and tongue more than compensate for that. He was kissing and nibbling her breasts, when he reached her already hard nipples, she could not avoid gasping, letting out, "Oh, Kal!"

He spent a fair amount of time with them. He loved her firm breasts. Every once in a while he raised his head to look at her face. Seeing her face transfigured by pleasure was reward enough for now. The Princess' body was mildly shaking under Clark's kisses. He moved farther south to her stomach. When he began licking her navel, Diana let a moan escape her lips. Her shaking was getting more noticeable the lower he moved on her body. One of his hands was stroking her thighs, and slowly moved in between her legs. It pleased him to see how wet she was

"Perfection," he mused. Now her groans and moaning were constant. Her legs spread under his touch. His mouth moved over her mons and he positioned himself between her thighs and her hips began to move up and down rhythmically with her accelerated respiration. The moment his lips touched her feminine core, an agonizing cry left her mouth, one of her hands began stroking his head and the other was clawing the ground beside her. Clark found her taste intoxicating. He knew right there he'll never have enough of this woman. He tried to stay alert, though; images of a video he saw about woman crushing a watermelon between her thighs crossed his mind. Should Diana close her legs suddenly during her release, he would have to move fast out of the way. He introduced a finger and the Amazon cried again, only louder this time. She was close, he could tell.

"Kal! Yes! Right there! Oh, Kal! I'm…aaaahh! Kaaahhhl!" As he predicted, she closed her legs violently. He was prepared, though. Grabbing her hips by her butt cheeks, he lifted them positioning his head below, continuing his work from behind, for as long as her release lasted. When her body stopped trembling, he put her down gently and went to lie beside her.

After a few moments she could barely articulate. "That…that was…"

"Beautiful. Perfect. Thank you for that, Di," he interrupted her.

"Don't thank me yet." Diana rolled on her side to face him. "Because I'm planning to make you cry, baby."

"Is that so, 'screamer'?" he retorted

She slapped his chest lightly. "I'm not a screamer!"

"Oh, yeah? Tell that to the many animals that ran away, scared of your noises," he teased.

"That's not true! And it's your fault, anyway." She cuddled under his arm. "I think this arrangement may work. You will have your reward now, Beloved" She reached to kiss him and began stroking his torso. Oh, yeah: she loved his chest. "It's a beautiful day" she asseverated.


End file.
